



OFFICIAI^ JIONATION. 









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ISSUED BY 



\V^ T. W. POOLiE, 

Commissioner of Immigration of Louisiana, 

MAY 1889. 

ERNEST MARCHAND, STATE PRINTER, 110 CHARTRES STREET, New Orleans, La. 



/ 



/' 



SOME LATE WORDS 



-ABOTJT- 





m^iA &L 





T6S 




-BY- 



T. W. POOLE, 

Commissioner of Immigration 

OF THE^— 

STKTe OF=! L-OUISIT^NK. J^m^^.^h 

h I ' - - - 

ADDRESS : 

No. 5 CARONDKLKX STRBBX, 

New Orleans, La., U. S. A. 



NEW ORLEANS : 

E. MAECHAKD, STATE PRINTEE, 
110 Chaetres Street. -- 



1889. 







1§ NOV 1905 
Di of 0< 



SOME LATE WORDS ABOUT LOUISIANi 



'HE Louisiana of to-day is a very different State from Louis- 
iana of four, or even two, years ago, vrith. respect to immi- 

-^ gration. Within the former period, an area in her south- 
western border, a belt fifty miles long by twenty or more broad, 
has been utterly transfigured by such a notable immigration from 
the West, that it is the mostly distinctively Anglo-Saxon migra- 
tion ever known to the South since the settlement of Jamestown, 
Virginia, in the early history of our civilization of this continent. 
The character or quality of this immigration is beyond praise, 
viewed as a mass. It blends instantly in fraternal coherence 
with our people in enduring homogenity. 

Its people are law-abiding, intelligent, thrifty, industrious, in 
large proportion well-to-do, (in not a few cases wealthy), and 
thoroughly in accord with the spirit of American liberty. In al- 
most every instance they pay cash for the land they purchase. 
In cases where the earlier settlers of more moderate means have 
purchased or taken homesteads, the great increase in value ox 
their holdings has placed them, with few exceptions, in a posi- 
tion of competency ; so, that as a body, they constitute such an 
aggregation of landowners, free from indebtedness, that no part 
of the United States furnishes a parallel to. 

Then, as a body, there is such a deep and pervading content 
and hopefnlnes marking them that, without almost an exception, 
every one is an enthusiastic, efficient, propagandist in behalf oi 
immigration to the State. 

All these factors in this bright epoch of Louisiana's progress 
are only earnests of the incomputable outcome of the develop- 
ment of our State. Only a few years ago was felt the first im- 
press of this progress that has now deeply and durably engraven 
its fair features upon Louisiana. 

It is au enviable distinction and an indestructible self-en- 
graving, as well as an enduring beneficence, attaching to the 



SOME LATE WORDS 



admiuistration of my predecessor, Hon. Win. H. Harris, this 
great development of our State. Contemporaneous with his ad- 
ministration has transpired one of her most notable eras. This 
is a felicity upon which he is to be congratulated ; and fair- 
minded men will be glad to remember it, as we are to record it. 

And, as coadjutors, it is a duty and a pleasure to accord to 
others their measure of praise. Mr. S. L. Carey, formerly of 
Manchester, Iowa, was induced to locate in Calcasieu parish 
through the importunity of Commissioner Harris. With a pa- 
tience, sagacity, industry and management truly remarkable, 
this pioneer set to work to populate the area then unknown to 
the foot of the Western immigrant. He secured some land ; 
prevailed on his kindred to settle from the West ; laid off the 
town of Jennings, and soon had a nucleus of Western men. 
And Mr. A. D. McFarlain, a native, was a co-worker and joint 
owner of this town. A little later, Mr. J, B. Watkins secured 
an immense area — a million and a half acres, or more — and 
soon laid the foundation of those prodigious and expensive 
plans of development and immigration propaganda which soon 
afterwards characterized his efforts, and which are still in force. 

Early in the year 1880, The Times-Democrat, one of the leading 
papers of the South, a journal of great authority, of New Or- 
leans, La., secured the services of Col. M. B. Hillyard. This 
gentleman traveled over much of Southwest Louisiana, and 
wrote many letters about that area. Jennings, then a little 
town of a dozen or more houses, received great attention from 
his pen, and he gave distinct regard to several other localities. 
His letters were widely republished in the West, and were repro- 
duced in a number of journals in England. These letters contri- 
buted much to the development of Southwest Louisiana, as is 
generally conceded by the people of this State and the country 
at large. Another work by this gentleman was the publication 
of a large book, entitled *' The Kew South,'' issued in 1887. In 
it Louisiana, as well as other States of the South, ha I space ac- 
corded to their claims upon the immigrant, the capitalist, manu- 
facturer and health seeker. It was distributed, in elegant form, 
by its publishers. The Manufacturers' Eecord of Baltimore, Md., 
to all the leading hotels and libraries and newspapers of the 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 



United States, and the leading steamship lines of the world. 
This stroke of enterprise cost the publishers, we are credibly in- 
formed, nearly twenty thousand dollars. And this book is 
telling the story of Louisiana's attractions throughout the civil- 
ized world, and, for unaumbered years, will still proclaim them. 

Shortly after Col. Hillyard's work in The Times-Democrat^ Mr. 
J. B. Watkins began to print The American at Lake Charles, 
La., and to commeuce that large and liberal system of develop- 
ment of his land and advertising them. The whole adjacent 
country felt the influence of these costly endeavors, and Lake 
Charles felt, particularly, the work, which is written in a pro- 
gress of larger character than any town in Southwest Louisiana, 
or, perhaps, the State. As au assistant ia this work, he had 
Prof. S. A. Kuapp, formerly president of the Iowa Agricultural 
College, who, by tongue and pen and many phases of public ac- 
tion and marked identification with industrial affairs, has, in a 
brief sojourn in Louisiana, made a reputation here second only 
to that of the great distinction he achieved in Iowa. The other 
great assistant of Mr. Watkins was Prof. A. Thomson, formerly 
of Iowa, and a brother-in-law. This gentleman (a civil engineer) 
has had the practical oversight and execution of many schemes 
of Mr. Watkins and his own, and some in connection with Prof. 
Knapp in their own interest. 

Another factor of considerable influence in development in 
that area has b-^en the Southwest Louisiana Land Company, with 
Mr. Alphonse Levi as president, and Messrs. C. C. Duson and 
W. W. Duson as co-workers. Among other striking phases of 
their work has been the building of Crowley, in which Col. 
Hillyard gave most notable assistance in the columns of 
The Times- Democrat aforesaid. Another steady and liberal co- 
worker in the development of Southwest Louisiana has been the 
Southern Pacific Railroad. The country so greatly developed, 
of which we have been sjieaking, is situated on their line. They 
have devised schemes to foster immigration, having as Northern 
immigration agent, Mr. S. L. Cary; and, besides, special rates 
for immigrants, at all times, run for the winter and late autumn 
and early spring, semi-monthly excursions in conjunction with 



6 SOME LATE WOEDS 

the Illinois Central Railroad, at very low rates, with Mr. Carey 
accompanying them as guide. 

So much for Southwest Louisiana. 

In North Louisiana and elsewhere, there are several immigrar- 
tion associations at work : The North Louisiana Land and Im- 
provement Company of Union parish ; an Immigration Associa- 
tion in Franklin parish; theNorth Lou i si an a Immigration Associa- 
tion, headquarters in Caddo parish; an Immigration Association 
under the Sugar Planters' Association of the parish of Ascension. 
In this part of the State. North Louisiana, while Western immi- 
gration has made but only an occasional mark, hnrdly noticeable, 
yet immigration from the South, of white people from Georgia, 
Alabama and other States, is making a considerable stir, and 
coming in in force. Although the movement is very recent, yet 
already several hundred families have come in, and these are but 
the harbingers of those to follow. It is an act of the merest justice 
to say that this immigration is greatly, if not wholly, attributable 
to Mr. E. C. Drew, of Bienville parish, Louisiana. We see warm 
tributes to him in the i^ress of that portion of the State, and 
think the people generally are glad to have their gratitude voiced 
in such recognition of his services. 

Another powerful influence in behalf of immigration is the 
Illinois Central Railroad. On their southern division, within 
the limits of Louisiana, in the last two or three years, much de- 
velopment has taken place there. Several towns that, within those 
years, had no existence, have become quite noted West, and are 
building rapidly, while others that languished have become 
bustling. The development in fruit and vegetable raising has 
been immense, and this railroad now devotes its best efforts to 
promoting these industries— industries long before prosecuted 
by energetic pioneers, and which brought them loss or ruin. 

In this late work of development on the line of the Illinois 
Central railroad. The Times -Democrat played some part, having 
again brought into requisition the pen of Col. M. B. Hillyard, 
who spent some mouths in writing up that country in its columns. 
In connection with this railroad, the signal efforts of Mr. J. F. 
Merry, the general Western passenger agent of the road, ought 
to h^ mentioned. He hai? put into operation a well devised and 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 



ably-sustained scheme of semi-monthly excursions from the 
West over the line of his road, to promote immigration to 
Louisiana. 

It is right and proper, in this later-day rush of immigration, 
and fruit and vegetable planting, that pioneers, who worked 
many years before, should not be forgotten. Fifteen or twenty 
years ago mucli work was done in behalf of immigration, and 
raising fruits and vegetables. Such men as Dr. S. A. Swazey, 
the Messrs. Menard, S. S. Connor, and others, were early in 
fruits and vegetables. Col. M. B. Hillyard, then of Hazlehurst, 
Mississippi, exerted an influence along the whole line in his 
large work there in the same business ; and Mr. Parker Earle, 
the president of the Mississippi Valley Horticultural Society, 
lent to the industry the great influence of his example. In im- 
migration. Col. Dan'l Dennett, the veteran agricultural editor of 
the New Orleans Picayune, and Col. M. B. Hillyard, exerted them- 
selves strenuously by addresses along the line of the Illinois 
Central railroad, as early as 1874 75. And the latter gentleman 
wrote many letters before and after that time, in various North- 
ern journals, and brought down many eminent journalists from 
the North and West to assist in the behalf in question. Through 
him, too, the management of the railroad (since passed into the 
hands of the Illinois Central), spent much money in advertising, 
editorial excursions, etc. 

Finally, the earlier work of commending Louisiana to the 
public had great help from a pamphlet from the pen of Col. 
Daniel Dennett, aforesaid, entitled "Louisiana As It Is." This 
work was issued about the year 1875, and was chiefly devoted to 
the " Attakapas " parishes of ISouthwest Louisiana. It is a noble 
work, and written con a7Hore by one thoroughly conversant with the 
topic No greater praise can be accorded it, than to say that the 
United States government has adopted much of its subject-matter 
in a pamphlet, issued by the United States Department of Agri- 
culture, t ntitled "The Soils and Products of Southwestern Louis- 
iana " In this pamphlet. Col. Dennett's work is thus alluded to : 

"The most accurate information in reference to the location 
and distances of the towns, rivers, lakes, bayous and railroads 
xs fouud iu Deunetta' deacriptioQ of bouthweoteru Louisia.ua 4" 



8 SOME LATE WOEDS 

We have had several motives in this rather extended review of 
Louisiana's progress, and the promoters of it. First, we rejoice 
to "render honor to whom honor is due;" we delight to keep 
fresh in public esteem those whom the world quickly forgets, in 
the nature of human conduct; we also, thereby, while payiug 
these tributes, measurably portray the development of the State, 
and show its localities. The lesson is thereby conveyed that 
work finally counts, although in some cases the fruits do not at 
once appear. The lesson of this depi(;tion is that three localities 
are on the road to a development. That, in Southwest Louisi- 
ana, is beyond due estimate ; that is very considerable on the 
line of the Illinois Central Railroad; and that promises much in 
North and Northwest Louisiana. Those railroads have sptMit 
money liberally, and have employed competent oflBcers. North 
Louisiana has not had railroad assistance, but labor has borne 
its results. The review offers an incentive to other railroads to 
exert themselves in behalf of immigration. Nearly a score of 
towns have sprung up on the Southern Pacific Railroad as one 
of the results of immigration, and several on the line of the Illi- 
nois Central. On the other hand, the teaching is that if a rail- 
road will not arise to the height of the opportunity, still private 
enterprise can etltnjt much, as Mr. E. C. Drew's great success 
amply illustrates. Therefore, let individuals and associations 
take hold of this great interest. The lesson is that, with proper 
management, they cannot labor in vain. 

In the following pages the general topics of health (the most 
important of all considerations) and climate are treated with an 
authoritativeness and exhaustiveness that makes anything we 
could say superflous and a work of supererogation. Unreasonable, 
indeed, would be that person who could wish anything more satis- 
factory about health, anything further about climate, than the 
matter herewith printed. 

Briefly, as to fruit and vegetable raising, we ought to say that 
perhaps no State in the Union presents, within its borders, such 
a wide range as Louisiana. The orange and olive flourish on her 
southern borders. The apple, cherry, gooseberry, currant will 
do well within her limits. Between the north and south lines, 
what a range I The tig, pear, apricot, nectarine and every small 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 9 

fruit will flourish. Let the horticultorist ponder this, and let 
the critic point to any other State (unless perhaps California) 
where the like conditions obtain, in the regard in the premises. 

And as to vegetables and melons, where can those raised here 
be surpassed 1 

The out-bearing trees are worthy of a chapter. 

The flowers are beyond our pen, and " beggar praise." 

The topics of live stock and grasses deserve far more consi- 
deration than we can accord them. Some of the most distin- 
guished thoroughbred horses the world has ever known have 
been born and raised within the borders of this State. 

Mule raising, which has been only the vogue of late, has re- 
ceived a great impetus within a few years; and this business has 
amply demonstrated the superior quality of the home-bred and 
home -raised mule. 

Long ago cattle raising was a marked feature of the States' 
adaptation to the business. In few States of this Union was 
there a broader pastoral life. Millions of acres of her prairies 
was a cattle range. Thousands of men lived on the industry ot 
cattle raising. The abundant streams; the rainfall, so evenly 
distributed throughout the year; the abundant dews; the mild 
climate ; the wonderful abundance, richness of native grasses ; 
the fact that these supported cattle all winter, made cat tie- rais- 
ing the easiest and most successful of all vocations. They were 
never fed, never housed, and only saw their owners at branding 
times, or when wanted for slaughter or deportation. Immigra- 
tion has greatly narrowed the range ; but soil, climate, rainfall 
and streams, sunshine and dews still abide. And now is dawn- 
ing the era of improved stock. Herds of Holsteins, Jerseys, 
Short Horns, Polled Angus and other thoroughbreds and reg- 
istered breeds have got a lasting foothold. Soon the creameries 
will dot our towns, and dairying will be inaugurated on a broad 
scale. 

Then will come in, broadly, the cultivated grasses : Eed 
clover, Timothy, red top, orchard grass, Kentucky blue grass, 
meadow fescue, white clover, etc, etc. Everyone of these grasses 
have been tried, as has alfalfa, and all those and others are a 
success. Let no one fear about these. Sow in October, from 



10 SOME LATE WOEDS 

15th to BOth, and success will be certain. We ought to com- 
mend our Lespedeza striata (Japan clover), Bermuda grass, and 
the various paspalums (carpet grass), as wonderful summer 
grasses ; but space forbids. SuflBce it to say, that, with proper 
management, by combining thB summer and winter grasses (all 
the former we rank as winter grasses), pasture of the most lux- 
uriant and nutritious character can be had the year round. Hay- 
making, from carpet grass, has become a pronounced industry 
among the immigrants in Southwest Louisiana. We expect to 
see Timothy hay exported from ISTew Orleans to New York by 
sea, in large quantities within the next ten years, the product of 
Louisiana's soil. 

We ought not to forget what a large business is horse-raising 
in Southwest Louisiana — the famous "Attakapas" living on 
grass the year round, with a healthfulness and " bottom " having 
no rival in the country. 

Sheep and hogs do superbly. The reasons are easily explica- 
ble. In grass, they have the most healthful of food, almost the 
year round; and, if the cultivated grasses, heretofore mentioned, 
be seeded, pasture can be had the year through. In the forests 
there is a great variety of " mast," many varieties of the hickory- 
nut, the pecan, many varieties of the oak, beech, etc. Then 
hogs find a great many worms and other food, and have the ex- 
ercise of unlimited range. The breeds that are an undoubted 
success, are Poland China, Berkshire, Essex and Jersey Eed or 
Duroc. Of course the "natives" are included. Some of them 
grow to good size, and they are very hardy. The Guinea, too, 
may be included. 

Sheep are very healthful ; and even in the prairies, M'here the 
country, being generally very level, would seem to be against 
them, because, to the superficial observer, not giving them a dry 
enough "foot," great success has attended the industry. The 
animal is very fecund in Louisiana; seventy-five per cent, in- 
crease ^er annum, being an estimate within bounds. Their wool 
is even-fibred and in demand. In much of the area it is not 
*'burry." Owing to their healtlifulness, twins are common, and 
sometimes triplets are borne. Not being subject to the many 
diseases intsident ta the transition from grcciA food to dry in 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 11 

winter, and from dry to green food in spring, and other com- 
plaints of a rigorous climate, but having green food (herbiverous 
sustenance) all the year here, tliey have almost no diseases. 
"Scab," we believe, is unknown, and foot-rot rare. The only 
thing that may be accounted an enemy is the ubiquitous cur, 
and this will be a declining impediment as the years roll by, and 
in parts of the State is an insignificant obstacle. 

Before passing from the topic of live stock, we ought not to 
fail to impress the fact, that young mules and horses incur no 
set back or " stunt " here, but grow right on through winter. 
Another most striking fact is that both these animals, owing to 
the mildness of our climate, are remarkably free from troubles of 
the throat and lungs. And mules seldom have the " big jaw." 

As the Xorth and West place so much stress upon the culti- 
vated grasses, we ought, in justice to the tojnc, to say something 
more of them. The most unobservant traveler, in the richer 
lands of Louisiana, must surely have noticed how wonderfully 
white clover thrives there. It lasts much, if not all, the year, 
but is at its best from December to June. In the latitude of 
New Orleans, it is sometimes in bloom by the middle of January, 
and in our richest lands frequently attains the height ot fifteen 
to eighteen inches. 

' Bed clover has been tried at many points in the State. In 
some parts, it is growing in profusion, for miles along head- 
rows, and near the tracks of railroads. Introduced at various 
points in the State, in the wake of the Federal c.ivaliy, during 
the late war, it is flourishing in utter neglect and dist(5gard, and 
large quantities of hay are made from it in various localities by 
those who cultivate it. 

Timothy is another grass that has been more or less sown, and 
that demonstrates its adaptation to our soil and climate. 

Kentucky blue grass is beginning to make its way (one knows 
not how), and scarcely can a locality be found where more or It ss 
of it cannot be seen. The few who have seeded it, we think, are 
satisfied with it, and in combination with Bermuda grass, it will, 
in a few years, be the favorite with the intelligent stock-raiser 
for perpetual evergreen pasture. 

Bermuda is the most nutritioua of all grasses | is never killed, 



12 SOME LATE WORDS 

and rarely injured by any drought ; will support a greater num- 
ber of stock to a given area, than any grass known ; and is good 
pasture from May or April, according to latitude, until killing 
frost. 

Kentucky blue grass comes in when the Bermuda gives way, 
and continues until the Bermuda is in force in the spring. They 
tloui-ish together, and will last indefinitely; and thus, on the 
same area, the greatest two grasses of the world flourish, an 
evergreen pasture indefinitely. 

Meadow Fescue we have never seen tried, but from the way it 
holds on in Audubon Park, where it was sown during the great 
Exposition, it would seem to be all that could be desired as a 
winter grass. It is there wonderfully luxuriant, and has been 
subjected to repeated summer mowings for four or five years. 

Of other grasses, we have not so satisfactory a knowledge, 
but all natural conditions are even more favorable here than in 
our sister State of Mississippi, where almost all grasses known, 
have been for years demonstrated an unquestionable success. 

In "The :^ew South" heretofore referred to. Col. M. B. Hill 
yard, in his article on Mississippi, treats the topic of the culti 
vated grasses at large. For years he had studied them there 
and had sown them in many localities. He adduces a mass of tes 
timony in their favor there that will convince the most sceptical 
He thus comments on the mass of his testimony : " At this day 
1883, few well-informed persons can doubt that the South has 
some of the best grass regions on the continent ; but I thought it 
well enough to give the testimony of these eminent authorities, 
who, nearly ten years ago, were satisfied as to Mississippi and 
other parts of the South. If such men had no doubts then, who 
can doubt now ?" Again : " I have been so elaborate on grasses, 
because I would have no reader left in uncertainty as to whether 
the South is Ufiturally a great grass country." And the author 
enumerates clover, red, white, alfalfa, spotted medick, Japan 
and Mexican ; Kentucky blue grass, red top or Herd's grass, 
Timothy, oiclinrd grass, tall meadow oat grass, Italian rye grass, 
velvet lawn grass, Johnson grass. Now, as our rainfall and dew 
are heavier than in Mississippi, and our heat not so great; and 
as our rainfall is greatest in summer — we beg the reader to re- 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 13 

member this tremendous fact, — and our soil (mainly) more fertile, 
our natural conditions are heHer for grass-s than thone of j\[issis' 
sippi. 

The immigrant ought to be assured that he need not quit the 
crops of his old home, by coming to Louisiana. If he prefers to 
not try rice, sugar-cane, cotton or peas, he can raise corn, oats, 
rye, barley, wheat and buckwheat. These last three, many may 
tell him he cannot raise ; but it is not the fact. Before the war 
North Louisiana raised all her own w heat, in many localities. 
It has been demonstrated that two crops of buckwheat can be 
raised in a season. As to corn and oats, some pi odigeous crops 
have been raised ; and scarcely any agi icultural fair but one or 
more prizes are awarded for over one hundred bushels of corn 
per acre. 

We desire to emphasize the point that our future agriculture 
will be prominent in production of sea-island cotton. It has 
been successfully raised between New Orleans and Mobi.e years 
ago, and there is no reason why our Gulf front, west of New Or- 
leans, may not thus be utilized. 

Our sugar industry is promised a revolution under the diffu- 
sion process ; and the epoch of central refineries and small farms 
will then <;ome in vogue. The land owner will raise cane and 
sell it at so much per ton to the sugar refiner. From fifteen to 
forty tons per acre can be raised at a cost of one dollar and fifty 
cents, after the cane is planted, which costs, say, ten dollars per 
acre. At least three dollars per ton can be got for the cane. 
One hand can cultivate twenty acres of cane. Let any one cal- 
culate, and he will see the profits under that aspect of the in- 
dustry. Land can be had at from ten to twenty dollars per acre. 

Eice raising is very generally adopted by the immigrants who 
have moved to Southwest Louisiana from the West. They find 
the business profitable and easy. Figures vary so much, accord- 
ing to season, irrigation facilities, culture, care in saving, etc., 
etc., that we refrain from details From twenty-five to forty dol- 
lars per acre is a safe statement of clear money, under average 
circumstances. The straw makes a good " feed " for horses and 
cattle, and if the second crop be cut (as is here and there being 
done), springing up from the shattered seed, a most superb hay 



14 SOME LATE WORDS 

can be made — yielding from two to four tons per acre of imma- 
ture rice and very nutritious stalks. Hardly a richer provender 
can be found, except tliat of "pea vine" hay, where the pea is 
left ungathered, and which (by the way) is a common and won- 
derful crop. 

We pass without elaboration the large crops of sweet potatoes 
and peanuts ('' goobers ") that can anywhere in Louisiana be 
raised. 

In this hurried attempt at abroad view of the State, the won- 
derful system of the waterways of Louisiana ought to receive a 
word's notice. In this regard, she is without a peer in the na- 
tion! This distinction has advantages too great for adequate 
comment. These waterways furnish highways for commerce, 
and are intiueiitial (or can be made so) to check excessive rates 
of transportation. They give abundant, and even inexhaustible 
supplies of water for stock raising, a desideratum that any one 
who has ever raised stock in an arid country will highly appre- 
ciate. Almost every stream abounds with fish of very line 
quality. The main streams are unfailing — fed from far-ofi' 
sources. The Mississippi river draius almost half the United 
States. The Arkansas and Eed rivers course several States or 
Territories, and draw their supplies of water a vast distance from 
their mouths. Minor streams are fed by almost thousands of 
streams or brooks which have their sources in the " everlasting 
hills." These brooks are clear and pure, and ripple over pebbly 
and sandy ways, and springs are innumerable in North Lou- 
isiana. 

The climatologist will not fail to reflect upon the effects of 
these waters in regard to health and rainfall ; and their economic 
aspect is a matter of no little import to the cities, on their banks, 
and those to be, for the various uses to which their supplies of 
water may be put. 

So pervading or penetrating is the navigability of many of the 
streams of Louisiana, that, at thousands of homes, the passenger 
and his freight can be landed almost literally at his very door. 
And there is open to all such unlimited opportunities for bath- 
ing, sailing, boating, etc The lumberman finds in many of these 
streams the cheapest and best of all means of rafting his timber 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 15 

to the mill, and, if he will, of floating his lumber to markets. 
On the smaller streams are unlimited opportunities for fish- 
ponds ; and oue can have the option of catching several species 
of fish from the brook, or one or more species from the fish-pond. 

Louisiana abounds in lakes, (there are over three thousand 
miles of them, many of them navigable), salt and fresh. In the 
former are many fine fish, and oysters, crab and shrimp (the true 
crayfish so dear to Englishmen). In the latter are also many 
choice species of fish. And many of these lakes are navigable 
and beautifully wooded; and someday will be beautified with 
homes cherished- as winter resorts. This aspect of these lakes 
has never had the consideration it deserves. Only a few spots 
have received the attention their loveliness warrants, and will, 
ere long, command. Thousands of lovely villas will deck their 
shores within the next quarter of a century, and they will be 
graced with the most aesthetic features of floriculture and 
arboriculture. The gaily painted yacht will curtsey on their 
waters, and the embellishments of architecture will add its 
charms to their shores. And in these lovely homes, the graces 
of domestic life will embellish and highten natural attractions ; 
and nature will render back its inestimable blessings of health 
and the innocent joys of bird songs, flowers, balmy airs and glo- 
rious skies. Well might one dilate at large on the large, 
luscious, innocent, soothing narcotism of the gulf airs, but space 
forbids. Mr. Joseph Jefferson, the world-renowned actor and 
impersonator of Rip Van Winkle, places special emphasis on the 
bland and healing eflects of the climate on overstrung nerves 
and overwrought brain, and the relaxed and overdone business 
man, at his winter home near one of these lakes. 

There are nearly four thousand miles of navigable rivers and 
smaller streams j while the mileage of brooks is almost incom- 
putable. 

In her wealth and variety of timber, Louisiana haa no supe- 
rior, if a peer, in the United States. In point of species of 
woods, there are probably over a hundred, and their value is 
unequaled by any State in the Union, and their magnificence 
surpassed by none but a few of the giants of California. In 
ornamental trees, her wide-spreading live-oaks have no peer. 



16 SOME LATE WORDS 

Their breadth of foliage and the deep and cordial tones of their 
color, area never-failing joy, to say nothing of their shapeliness. 
The magnolia grandijiora is another tree of incomparable beauty, 
both of form and foliage, while its imnieuoe creamy chalice of 
bloom overflows almost all summer with an intensity and perva- 
sion of fragrance that is almost unendurable to some. But 
space forbids much regard to the aesthetic side of Louisiana's 
flora. The hardwoods — many species of oaks, several of hickory, 
(the pecan among them), ash, etc., are most superb in size and 
fibre. Probably no State in the Union can show such a profu- 
sion, quality and size of the last three species, as Louisiana. 

In cypress Louisiana is vastly ahead of any other State in the 
Union, not only in quantity but quality. This wood is making 
its way into many uses, and, within a few years, has met with 
such general commendation that it is in great demand. Many 
mills in Louisiana run entirely on its " cut," and the business is 
one of the most expanded industries of the State. In certain lo- 
calities, is found a bird'seye cypress, especially in demand for 
ornamental work. 

In yellow pine, Louisiana has one of the largest supplies of 
any State in the Union, and is claimed by some, to surpass any 
State. This tree grows only in the South. Of late, its lumber 
has grown into great favor, and according to Mr. W. H. How- 
cott, a leading authority, has eome into extensive use in Idaho, 
Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, etc. It has greatly 
supplanted other lumber in many large Wf^stern cities. Accord- 
ing to this authority there are over 2,400 saw mills in the South, 
most of them cutting this lumber, and fifty million of dollars 
have been invested in Southern pinelands since the last censas. 
Louisiana has shared largely in these sales, and millions of acres 
have been sold to speculators and manufacturers. The following 
compilation from the last United States census, taken from Mr. 
Howcott'a letter in the Baltimore Manvfacturers^ Record, of Jan- 
uary 5, 1889, shows the status of Louisiana as to yellow pine. 

The forestry bulletins of the last census of the United States 
give the following estimates ot long and short leaf yellow pine 
standing June Ist, 1880, yiz : 



ABOUT louisia:na. 17 



Long leaf, feet. Shcrt leaf, feet. 

A'abaraa 18,8S5^J0{),0()0 

Florida 0,615,000,000 

Arkansas 41,315,000,000 

Oeorgict ... 10,778,000,000 

Lr.ui.siana 26 588,000,000 21,625,000,000 

Mississippi 17,200,00;),000 6,775,000,00(ft 

Korth Carolina 5,229,000,000 .- 

South Caroliua 5,310,000,000 20,093,200,000^ 

Texas 20,508,000 000 20,093,200,000^ 



Total 117,119,000,000 121,901,400,000 

Louisiana has long been known to possess some minerals in 
great force. Hei deposit of rock salt is one of the purest and' 
most extensive in the world, containing over 99 per cent of 
chloride of sodium (common salt). It is crushed or powdered, 
and over four hundred tons are sent away from the mines dail)' — 
a railroad having been built to the mines. This is on Petite Ause 
island. In the northern portion of the State, salt, long ago, \sas 
■obtained by boiling water fiom salt wells. 

Near Lake Charles is what is claimed to be the largest deposit 
of sulphur in the wor,d — a stratum of cry;,tallized sulphur,- 
three hundred feet thick, of remarkable parity. There is quite a 
flow of petroleum there, lately discovered, which is a fine lubri- 
cant just as it com^s from the wdl. There, too, is found lime- 
stoEe, gypsum and alum. In marbles, Louisiana is rich. There 
are several colors — a black, dove colored, and a dark, mottled 
marble, stieaked with white veins. This last style is in immense 
foice, accessible, easily quarried, and is very tractable. In 
oue instance, there is an immense hill, almost mountain of it. 
There are several varieties of limestone, some of very fine 
quality, and in abundance. There are some sandstones of good 
quality, and a peculiarly fiae millstone grit. Kaolin is found in 
great abundance, and of fine quality. Marl is also abundant 
and of good quality. 

It is only of very late that the precious minerals have been 
found. But careful, conscientious investigations assure us that 
gold and silver have been found. Some free gold has been dis- 
covered, and there is certainly to be found auriferous quartz, and 
a limestone bearing gold. Several assays have proved this, ana 



1« SOME LATE WOKDS 

the testimony of a very eminent geologist is secured as to the 
quartz. A gold-bearing limestone has been found, assaying 
eight ounces of pure gold to the ton, on the authority of a 
thoroughly reliable gentleman. Silver is found in the limestone, 
and many assays have been made of it. From the testimony we 
have, there is a very rich treasbre of this mineral in Louisiana. 
There has been nothing but a private and superficial exploitation 
made; but we are assured that the auriferous quartz, and the 
silver-and-gold-bearing limestone are in great force, particulaily 
the former. Iron is found ; but, at this stage of investigation, 
we cannot commend it from a^ economic standpoint. It is an 
act of bare justice to say that Hon. W. H. Jack and Mr. Samuel 
H. Houston have been conspicuously identified with the explora- 
tion of the more recently found minerals of the State. Before 
leaving the topic, we state that we have been recently shown a 
specimen of semi-anthracite coal by a gent'eman of this State, 
who assures us that it was found in thi'. State, and that he thinks 
it exis sin quantity. If this be so (and we regard the informa- 
tion as reliable), it is a most significant fact. In conclusion, 
aipon the topic, we beg to urge upon capitalists and explorers the 
minerals of Louisiana as well worthy of their atteation. 

We now proceed to a brief consideration of the various lands 
of Louisiana, as categorized on the topographical map of Louisi- 
ana, constructed by the eminent Prof. S. H. Lockett, now de- 
ceased, He makes eight grand divisions c^ them, to-wit: "Good 
uplands. Pine hills. Bluff lands, Pine flats. Prairies, Alluvial 
lands. Wooded swamps, Coast marsh." Of the *' Good uplands" 
he says : " Soil : Sandy gray, or yellow loamy, or red ft-rrigin- 
ous. Subsoil, red clay. Small bottoms, fertile. Forest : Oaks, 
hickory, ash, beech, maple, dogwood, gums and short leaf pine. 
Water good. Products: Cotton, corn, po^atoes, small grain. 
Area, 8,200 square miles" With the exception of East Feli- 
ciana (which is placed in isolation, entirely in this belt), the area 
in question is situated along the northern half of the western 
l)order of the State, and in the northwest and west part of the 
north border of the State. 

The valley of the Eed river throws a long, narrow belt of this 
territory in the category or classification of " Alluvial Lands," 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 



in variant Tcidtlis, of froin oao to tnTO tovraships wiue, stretchiiig^ 
from nearly the extreme northwest corner of the State, pretty 
straight southeast. 

Also there is a narrow belt of "Alluvial Lands" penetrating 
this " Good Uplands " belt, about thirty miles long and two or 
three wide, along Bayou Dauchite, running almost due north and 
south in West Webster parish. Then the Ouachita river and 
Bayou Darboune constitute some belts of " Alluviai Lands" Iq 
their sinuosities, on the northwest border of this '• Good Up-^ 
lauds" territory. > 

The parishes in which the '' Good Uplands " obtain almost" 
■wholly or totally, are Sabine, DeSoto, Caddo, Bossier, Ked 
Kiver, Bienville, Webster, Lincoln, Jackson, Union. A long, 
narrow strip of the " Good Uplands " penetrates southeast 
through central Caldwell parish, well into Catahoula. A large 
portion of Morehouse and Ouachita parishes are also in the said 
territory. - 

This belt, of "Which we have been writing, is emphatically a" 
country of hill and dale, finely wooded, healthful and abounding 
in never-failiug springs and streams — the latter teeming with, 
fish. Its topography is a lofty rebuke to that stereotyped miscoik- 
ception that deems Louisiana a morass. This area particularly 
sustains the language of Col. H. S. LockeLt, who made tho topo- 
graphical map referred to, and which is quoted by Col. M- B. 
Hillyard in his book, "The New South." as follows : 

"Most people conclude that Louisiana is, throughout its entire 
extent, a low, wet, swampy region. They imagine its surface to 
be a great plain of wooderful fertility, when at all arable^, 
with an undefinable succession of deep jungles, tangled 
swamps, marshes, lakes, sloughs, cane and cypress brakes But 
these misconceptions will bo speedily dissipated by a jouruej 
into the interior, and it will be discovered that few States of the 
Union possess a greater diversity of surface, soil, climate, 
scenery and products than Louisiana." Will the reader i)]eas* 
pause, tor just a moment, and let the import of tliat expression^ 
*' diversity of surface and scenery," sink into his comprehen 
sionT The truth is that this " Good Uplands " is a pleasing and 
picturesque country. Its variation of contour is almost coa- 



20 SOME LATE WORDS 

staut; aii'l, while there is neither grandeur nor sublimity in its 
scenery, it is the utmost remove from monotony of configura- 
tion. 

Its wealth of hard wood timber is great, and will, some day 
play a great part in industries into which it may enter — agri 
cultural implements, w,igon, carriage and furniture factories 
tanneries, and, as accesgo'.ies of the last, boot and shoe manu 
•factories, etc. The choicest fruits, common to higher latitudes 
may be raise^l here. We feel quite sure that the Delaware grape 
-can be raised to perfection on its hills. The fig is at home. But 
we can dwell no longer on this area, except to siy that it is 
pierced on its northern border by a prominent rnilroad and a 
branch road, and that other lines are surveyed which promise 
still further railroatl facilities ; that a considera*)le part of its 
area is penetrated by navigable streams, on which steamboats 
ply ; and that more or less minerals are to be found there. 

The next grand division of Louisiana, on the topographical 
map, is that of the '■'■ Pine Ilills." These are situated in the 
northern part of Calcasieu parish, clear across its longitude, 
constituting, in round numbers, about one-third of its large area ; 
the whole of Vernon parish, except a thread of alluvial land on 
the Sabine river; about the equivalent in area of six townships 
in Southeast Sabine parish ; the southwest fourth part of Nat- 
-chitoches parish, and a belt a township, or more wide across its 
south boundary, and abiut the f quivalent of five townships and 
-embracing the area of its narrow north longitude; the entire 
area of Winn parish; almost the entirety of Grant, except a 
narrow strip of "Alluvial Land "in its southwestern corner — 
the bottom of Bed river — an I a mere ribbond of the same sort 
of land on the south half of its west border, the bottom of 
Little river ; the greater part of Rapides parish, which is pene- 
trated its entire length by the " Alluvial Lands ' of the Red 
s-iver bottom, in a northwest and southeast direction, and consti- 
tuting a belt of the latter two townships wide, which throws the 
parish into a large area of '•' Pine Hills" on its west, and a small 
.area northeast; about the equivalent of five townships in 
Northwest Saint Landry parish ; about a third of the area of 
Jjforthwest Catahoula pirish, about the equivalent of fourteen 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 21 



townships; a wedge-shaped portion of Bienville paiish, sharply 
terminating- near Sparta, with its base covering almost all the 
south bonier of the parish, about three townships wide in longi- 
tude; and a block in Jackson parish, two townships wide in lati- 
tude, and a little over three in longitude in the southeast area. 

The above is a rude description of the area of the " Pine 
Hills." It is a character of country, mainly broken. Its p:ne 
timber is, in some areas, superb. It is thinly settled ; abouuvls 
in game (as does much of the " Good Uplands") ; is beautifully 
watered, with springs and clear streams, and plentiful in fish 
^nd healthful. Here are found much of the best minerals of 
Louisiana. 

Cf this "Pine Hills" division Professor Lockett thus writes 
on his topographical map aforesaid : " Soil : Thin, sandy, poor ; 
small bottoms good. Forest: Long leaf pine and black jack 
oak. Little undergrowth. Water good and abundant. Pro- 
ducts : Cotton, corn, potatoes, cattle, lumber. Area, 8,600 
square miles." 

The next grand division en the topographical map, is the 
" Blufl" Lands." They constitute a comj^aratively small area of 
the State, but a very peculiar soil, that is known to the geologists 
as '* loewess." Professor Lockett thus speaks of it: "Soil: 
yellow loamy, very fertile; washes badly. Forest: white oaks, 
water oaks, pin oaks, beach, poplar, magnolia, holly, sweet gum, 
giant canes and many vines. Water scarce and bad. Products : 
cotton, corn, cane and rice. Area, 2,480 square miles." In this 
division are situated almost the whole of the parish of West 
Carroll ; virtually, all of Franklin ; the eastern two thirds part of 
Richland ; two or three small areas of Catahoula (detached and 
strung along in the eastern portion of the parish, and tending 
northeast and southwest), altogether constituting an area not 
more than equivalent to two townships ; a small area in northeast 
Rapides (say the equivalent of two townships); nearly two town- 
ships in northwest Avoyelles, and several small areas in devious 
ribbons or narrow strips, elsewhere in the parish ; a long strip, 
very narrow, running alcng just west of Bayou Cocodiie, on east 
of Opelousas, on past Grand Couteau, in the western part of St. 
Landry parish ; still on, a narrow strip in northwest Lafayette 



22 SOME LATE WOEDS 






:titiitiiig tlie Gareacro iiiiis, to Lafayette (formerly 
Yermilliouville)} then, startiag in a little below this town, aud 
nmiiiug south iu a narrow strip (here called Cote Gel^e hills), 
aud bordering some distance the west valley of the Teche ; on 
past New Iberia, in Iberia parish, still a narrow strip, and here 
treudiijg sharply west ; then, in isolated spots, ending on the 
niarshes bordering the bays of Cote Blanche and Vermillion, 
and constituting the remarkable islanded hills Cote Blanche, 
GrHnde Cote and Petite Anse — the remarkable salt mine before 
nieutioned, and otherwise known as Avery's Island. We had 
like to have forgotten to mention a hill nearby, the winter home 
of Mr. Joseph Jefierson, the renowned actor. Then, on the west 
Bide of the Mississippi river, it comes in, at the north end of the 
S^ate, constituting almost the entire soil of West Feliciana par- 
ish ; almost all of that of East Baton Eouge, except a narrow 
strip, west on the Mississippi river, and a small wedge of " good 
uplands" in the northeast portion of the parish; then, bulging 
out, it covers the entire west of Livingston parish, and subsides 
in a small area in the southwest corner of this parish, and a little 
bit of the extreme northwest portion of Ascension parish. 

This last mentioned area is a nut not thoroughly cracked by 
science, we believe, and we do not meddle with it. Some day it 
may have its revelations below the surface. But, as revealed, it 
constitutes a very choice soil, but one needing management; and 
suggesting, as its choicest use, pasture land. Eed clover flour- 
ishes on it astoundingly. 

The next division of Col. Lockett, is the " Pine Flats." This 
is an area in Calcasieu parish of cold, flat, poor land, covered 
much of the year by water. It is mainly west of the Calcasieu 
river, and north of the west branch of this river. Commencing 
near the Sabine river (the west border of the State), about three 
townships wide of latitude, it trends northeast, gradually nar- 
rowing, running through nearly tea townships (sixty miles), 
until it terminates in a small area on the Calcasieu river, at a 
point where the " Pine Hills " and the " Prairies" abut on this 
river. 

The next grand division of Professor Lockett, is the " Prairies." 
This is the seat and centre (near its western border), of the great 



A T>r».TT'T' Xi'^"'^I'^IA^7A 23 

Western immigratioD, which, starting a few years ago, under 
the auspices of my predecessor, Hon. Wm. H. Harris, has now 
traDsfi;;,ured it from a vast cattle-range to a region thickly pop- 
ulated, and dotted with the best aspects of a well settled West- 
ern prairie State. For their share in this great work of trans- 
formation, we have sought, in the opening part of this article, to 
give the participants therein some measure of the credit due 
them. For a description of this country, we are fortunately not 
left to cur own words. Other pens than ours, above the suspi- 
cion of partiality, have anticipated us. In Col. M. B. Hillyard's 
" The New South,'' we find extracts from the works of very em- 
iuent pens. Professor Eugene W. Hilgard, (one of the most 
eminent scientists of the day, now of the University of Cali- 
fornia), says : " Few sections of the United States, indeed, can 
ol3ir such inducements to settlers as the prairie region between 
the Mississippi bottoms, the Nez Pique and Mermentau. 
Healthier, by far, than the prairies of the Northwest j fanned by 
the sea breeze ; well watered ; the scarcity of wood rendered of 
less moment by the blandness of the climate, and the extraor- 
dinary rapidity with which natural hedges can be grown for 
fences ; while the exuberantly fertile soil produces both sugar 
cane and cotton in profusion, continuing to do so in many cases, 
after seventy years' exhaustive culture. Well may the Teche 
country be styled, by its enthasiai«tic inhabitants, the ' Garden of 
Louisiana.'" Cf the parishes of St. Landry, Lafayette, St. Mar- 
tin, Iberia, Vermillion and St. Mary (mainly the area included 
in the above description of Professor Hilgard), Col. Daniel Den- 
nett writes, devoting to them his pamphlet before referred to, 
*' Louisiana As It Is." From copious extracts from it, in Col. 
Hillyard's "New South," we make the following quotations: 
" These six parishes contain more than 3,000,000 acres of tilla- 
ble land, most of it of inexhaustible fertility. Even most of the 
sea marsh, and all of the swamp lands, may be reclaimed by 
local levees and draining machines, and may become the most 
productive rice and sugar lands of the State • ♦ • • * 
On thousands of acres the grass grows on a smooth surface, un- 
der the waving branches of noble trees. These lands are far 
more beautiful than the famous woodland pastures of Kentucky. 



24 so:je late words 



The trees have a more luxuriant growth; the foiiage is richer 
aud hangs out od the broad branches in a more generous abund- 
ance, and the soil is rich beyond anything we ever saw in th& 
great West. And it is the cleanest looking country we have ever 
traveled over. The beautiful smooth prairies look as though 
they had just been washed; the grass looks like a luwu neatly 
shaved by some 'fine, old English gentleman/ who prides him- 
self on his aristocratic estate. The fat herds grazing upon these 
green prairies help in giving the finishing touch to this magnifi- 
cent landscape scenery." Again, in glowing language, he writer 
of it as "That magnificent portion of Louisiana, west of the 
Mississippi, the Teche and Opelousas region, usually called 
' Attakapas and St. Landry'— the land of enchanting scenery, of 
beautiful bayous, and glassy lakes, and bays, of splendid prai- 
ries, and noble forests, of pleasant skies and gentle breezes, the 
laud of flowers, of beauty and of health." 

The following pen-sketch is pitched in the area described by 
Col. Dennett . 

^*I never stand upon the banks at night, of poem-honored Teche, 
that romance of the olden time does not come to mind. Evange- 
line, the lovely heroine of Longfellow's immortal story, is pic- 
tured by my imagination. In the long ago, one moonlight night 
in summer, on her tender, futile quest of her husband, Gabriel, 
she ascended that lovely stream. Methinks the sky was tender, 
as it was softly bright, and that the stars glimmered mildly in a 
pathetic haze, as though they were dewy with sympathy at the- 
sorrow of her life. The winds are whist, save now and then the- 
gentle sigh of soft zephyrs from the near-by gulf, perfume- 
ladened and plaintive as though they, too, were sympathetic. She 
is in a canoe, paddled by her escort. Gentle is the stroke of 
oar, so as to not impair any sound that may give a clue to her 
anxious ear. I see the silvery run of water from the uplifted 
paddle glisten in the moonlight; and hear the faint tinkle of the 
pearly oar-drip on the lucid water. With strained grasp, a lily- 
hand o»- either side, she holds the canoe. Her head is thrown 
forward and sidewise, face a little lifted, with keen attent of ear. 
The light of night shows the refined pallor of her face, its 
chiseled features deep with the pathetic traits of that sorrow that 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 25 



has marked, but cannot mar, her beanty, and that has engraven 
on those lovely lineaments an exalted and ensouled spirituality. 
Her large^ sorrowfully-beautiful, midnight-eyes are " homes of 
silent prayer," and softly gleam with the fixed mistiness of un- 
changed grief. Her hair, a stream of downy darkness, floods her 
shoulders, and waves far below her shapely waist. Her pure, 
rich lips are faintly parted, and her lovely mouth, with the 
I)early setting of its teeth, looks like " a rosebud filled with 
snow." Slowly, ahnost noiselessly, glides the canoe. Kow and 
then it passes the shadows of the stately magnolias that gloom 
the silvery stream here and there; and, from the censers of their 
glorious blooms, float a fragrance that charm the air, and seem 
a tribute to and effort at lenitive of her anguish. In the odorous 
tree, over head, the mockingbird softly shakes its lay, in a 
touch of low and curious plaintiveness, one sometimes hears at 
night, in broken melodies ; as though it, too, knew her pain, and 
would fain attempt her soothiug. On she goes. Fainter grows 
the sound of ripple from boat, antl tinkle of water-drip from 
paddle. Dimmer to vision becomes the figure of the sad, vigil- 
worn maiden. She is out of sight and into silence. 

The same moon and stars look down now, as in the long agone, 
when they lent their light in aid of her unrewarded quest. 
Other magnolias scent the midnight air, other mockingbirds 
haunt their branches, and attune tlie night. The Teche still 
threads its flowery vale. Evangeline and her Gabriel are long 
ago in Heaven ; but as long as the river flows, and man has 
sensibility, and our language lives, will the Teche be dear to all 
who have read the story and looked upon the stream ; and with 
its waters tender tears will mingle, and the softened imagination 
limn the immortal maiden." 

The following (with a short introductory caption) is taken 
from the Lake Charles (Louisiana) American, and is from the 
pen of one of the most gifted and celebrated literary ladies of 
the State, the wife of the late commissioner of immigration of 
Louisiana, Hon. Wm. H. Harris : 

SOUTHERN LOUISIANA AS A HOIME FOR WOMEN. 

We copy from Harper's Bazar an article under tlie abave cap- 



26 SOME LATE WOEDS 

tion, written by a highly gifted and cultured lady, the wife of 
our late distinguished Commissioner of Agriculture, Hon. Wm. 
Harris, of Calcasieu parish. Mrs. Harris writes as a sensible 
lady from practical experience and a close observation of the 
needs and pleasures of the home. This is a most valuable ac- 
quisition to our literature upon Southwestern Louisiana. It is 
in the ability to provide the ideal home from the woman's stand- 
point, that this country puts forth its highest claim. We ask 
every lady to read this excellent article: 

SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA AS A HOME FOR WOMEN. 
Mtb. Wm. Harris, in Harper's Bazar : 

Though man may not live by climate alone, yet, on the other 
liand, climate is sometimes the only thing that enables a man to 
Jive at all. Many lands did I traverse, and much hard-earned 
money did I spend to exorcise the rheumatic fiend that refused to 
l)e conjured down. Happening a few months ago to be in Kew 
Orleans, I remembered that an old friend lived not so very far 
from that city, in Arcady, for so is this pastoral country called, 
[having been settled many years ago by those exiled Acadians 
ifcom Nova Scotia, who to their country of enforced adoption 
^ave the name of Acadie. I forgot for a season my ailment, my 
[personal devil left without " special request,' and now the only 
■consciousness of my bones is that therein dwell many " springs." 
The never-failing breeze which blows direct from the Gulf of 
"Hexico has no sting in it; it strokes you as with a glove of fur, 
until soothed by its influence, you feel happy without knowing 
why. It makes the skin smooth and soft, and if mesdames the 
complexion vendors could but bottle it, what fortunes they 
►would make ! In this delightful climate, where illness is almost 
unknown, people acquire the habit of living, and keep on ad in- 
finitum, untU, as the proverb of the Cajuns (the descendents of 
the exiled Acadians), they get old, old, so old ! then shrivel up 
aind blow away." 

" Beautiful is the laud witli its prairies and forests and fruit trees, 
Under the feet a garden of tiowers, and the bluest of heavens 
Bending above, and resting its dome on the walls of the forest. 
They who dwell there have named it the "Eden of Louisiana." 

So wrote Longfellow of Southwestern Louisiana, which com- 



ABOUT LOmSIANA. 27 

prises the parishes of St. Mary, St. Martin, Iberia, Lafayette, 
Vermilion, St. Landry, Calcasieu and Cameron. 

Would that I could preach the doctrine of cheap homes to the 
women who work for a beggarly wage that barely keeps breath 
in their bodies — those who labor early and late in stifling facto- 
ries, who stand behind counters, and who are bondswomen to 
the needle I 

The government reserves thousands of acres of well-watered 
fertile prairie land, to be given away to bona fide settlers. Under 
the homestead act any woman, widow or spinster, of twenty-one 
years of age, may, upon the payment of fourteen dollars at the 
Land Office in New Orleans, enter one hundred and sixty acres 
of land. During the next five years she must pay an additional 
sum of four dollars and seventy-five cents, and at the end of that 
time the land is inalienably her own. It is understood that she 
complies with certain requirements. Under thy timber culture 
act, upon payment of a like sum, she may become the owner in 
three years of an additional one hundred and sixty acres of land. 

The nature of this land may be gnessed, when a few years ago 
the Chicago Tribune said: " If by some supreme effort of nature 
western Louisiana, with its soil, climate and productions, could 
be taken up and transported to the latitude of Illinois and In- 
diana, and there be set down in the pathway of eastern and 
western travel, it would create a commotion that would throw 
the discovery of gold in California in the shade at the time of the 
greatest excitement. The people would rush to it in countless 
thousands. Every man would be intent upon securing a few 
acres of these wonderfully productive plains." 

" Suppose a woman of sense and energy determined to make a 
living on a portion of this land — could she do it ?" you ask. 
Statistics bristle with the facts of women's snccess as farmers, 
stock-raisers, bee-keepers, florists, poultry-breeders, in the west 
and northwest, under most adverse conditions of climate. And 
in this land of easy conditions, in a climate which may be called 
perpetual spring, where growth of vegetable life is marvelous, 
failure ought to be well nigh impossible, unless the woman 
lacked the saving grace of common sense. In the variety and 
perfection of its products this is a wonderful region, producing 



28 SOME LATE WOEDS 

all the trees, shrubs, fruits, cereals, and grasses grown in semi- 
tropical and temperate countries. What, then, could our ener- 
getic woman do ? She might, for one thing, raise sweet pota- 
toes. They yield one huudred and fifty bushels per acre, with 
the easiest of cultivation, and are unrivalled as food for stock. 
Why also should she not send evaporated and desiccated sweet 
potatoes to northern markets 1 Perhaps vegetables would suit 
her fancy as a money crop. Every known vegetable may be 
grown here. The celery, cauliflower, and cucumbers of this re- 
gion are unsurpassed, and gardening may be done the whole 
year round. 

Why should she not raise fruits T Peaches, pears, nectarines, 
plums, apples, quinces, grapes, figs, persimmons, pomegranates, 
oranges and citron grow to perfection. Strawberries, blackber- 
ries and dewberries are prolific. What our fruit-grower cannot 
send to market she may can or evaporate. If she have a hand, 
cunning in confections, she is sure of many a dollar. 

To some women the care of cows is fascinating, and dairying 
ought to pay where milk sells for ten cents a quart, and butter 
for thirty or forty cents a pound, as it does here and in all the 
Southern cities. Grass is green the year round, and cows re- 
quire but a minimum of extra feed. 

Then there is floriculture. Where hedges are made of roses 
and Cape jasmines (gardenias), there must be possibilities in the 
culture of flowers. Stick anything in the ground, and it grows. 
In cut flowers, in growing plants for market, in the extracting 
the volatile oils, the distillation of perfumes, and the rendering 
of the essential oils, there is a large amount of money to be 
made, and the field is not occupied. 

Bees, that find their own keep in a country which, from Febru- 
ary to November is a sea of bloom, would be another source of 
profit. That woman who would supply the ^ew Orleans market 
with spring chickens during the months of February, March, 
April and May, would grow rich. Poultry of all kinds succeed 
admirably, are free of disease, and hens lay the entire year. The 
cost of raising them is small, not much housing being necessary, 
while they may find green food every month of the year. 

put perhaps our woman farmer may be more ambitious, aa4 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 29 

desire to go into stock raising. Why not ! There is no occult 
science in raising pigs, sheep, cattle and horses for the market, 
She may here enter into the lists with men, and success may 
smile upon her, for here, if anywhere in the United States, may 
stock-raising be made profitable. 

Why should she not essay rice farming aud succeed ? Do I 
not kuow a young Creole girl who, after her brothers had 
plunged their sugar plantation hopelessly into debt, begged their 
creditors for a few years' time, and at its expiration could show 
every liability met, and money in bank ? 

All these things, and many more, are waiting to be done by 
women who will go in for hard work with the same courage and 
determination that men give to any line of business. Nor must 
your pioneer expect to enjoy at once all of the advantages com- 
mon only in thickly settled countries. Yet let her not be dis- 
mayed. Homesteading here is a delightful process, compared to 
that ordeal in the Northwest. There can nothing be seen but a 
broad expanse of barren prairie, without a schoolhouse or vil- 
lage in sight, without settled aud defined laws; no neighbors 
"nearer than twenty miles," no associates, no newspapers, and a 
trying climate. In Louisiana the prairies have the look of well- 
washed green lawns, which would delight the eye of even the 
good old English gentleman. Every three or four miles their 
continuity is broken by well-wooded streams. Eoads are laid 
out and worked, making communication easy all the year be- 
tween the different districts. Churches of every denomination 
are everywhere to be seen ; an educational system is in force ; 
the laws are old, well settled and defined, and the people kind, 
hospitable and courteous ; and the settler begins life in a region 
abundantly supplied with all the essentials of civilization and 
refined life. 

Of course the great army of working women, and that multi- 
tud,e who make shirts at fifty cents a dozen, are not depositors in 
savings banks. There are, in all of our large cities, numbers of 
wealthy women who would gladly contribute money to any prac- 
tical charity. Induce them to form a guild to promote the inde- 
pendence of women. An association might be formed to pay 
the traveling expenses of settlers, to enter lands, to build there- 



30 SOME LATE WOEDS 

on, to stock the farms witli necessary implements and animals to 
make a crop, and to provide sufficient food until each family 
should be self-sustaining. To relieve itself of the odium of 
charity, it might consider itself a loan association, lending its 
funds upon easy terms and long time. 

This country might also well be the " Promised Land" to num- 
bers of other women, more happily circumstanced perhaps than 
those just cited, yet who are restless, dissatisfied with the limita- 
tions imposed upon them by sex, and who feel within them the 
stirring of financial and executive possibilities in lines of busi- 
ness not orthodoxly feminine. There ought to be, willing to 
enter in and take possession, a cloud of hard-worked and under- 
paid school teachers who, however, have contrived to save a 
little ; then there are the shoals of single women with certain 
fixed incomes of their own, but who live more or less dependent, 
undeveloped lives in the homes of married brothers and sisters. 
These would not need the aid of any association, but might find 
co-oi)eration among congenial mates and advantage. 

Therefore send us an army of women workers in this " good 
land, a land of brooks, of water, of fountains, and depths that 
spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and 
vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates ; a land of oil, olive and 
honey ; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, 
thou shalt not lack anything in it." 

The reader ought to remember that Acadia parish (since the 
above was written, cut off from South St. Landry parish) is en- 
titled to the benefits of the above language of Col. Dennett. 

Again, it must be borne in mind that with relation to Prof. 
iHilgard's language, the prairie west of the Nez Pique seems not 
included. Now, the hulJc of the Western immigration is west of 
the Nez Pique. As early as two years ago, it had lapped from 
the Mermentau and the Nez Piijue bayous, as far as Lake 
Charles (and even beyond), and from twenty miles or more north 
of Jennings to Lake Arthur (some ten miles south), and is even 
beginning to creep into Vermillion parish (also a lovely country), 
and almost untouched by immigration; from Lake Arthur to 
Abbeville, a belt of country forty miles long and from nine to 
^twelve miles broad south of the bayou Queue de Tortue and east 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 31 

of Lake Arthur. It is deemed utterly superfluous here to com' 
mend a country populated by over a thousand Western families, 
in which they have lived for years; which they have tried thor- 
oughly, and with which they are delighted; which country is 
outside and west of Prof. Hilgard's description. 

The topography of most of this prairie is level or flat. The 
streams are wooded with cypress, oaks, hickories, gum, etc., and 
some of the trees are large. The open prairies are unwooded, 
and firewood is planted — little being needed, — and consists of 
the China tree (mainly), a fast-growing tree. Catalpa is largely 
planted, too. 

The immigrants there are moving on all the lines of advanced 
agriculture ; fruit raising, grass growing, hay making, stock (im- 
proved) raising, etc. 

We now append Prof. Lockett's brief description of the "Prai- 
ries" on the topographical map in question : " Prairies — Soil : 
Grayish yellow, good and improves with use; treeless, grass 
covered, with coulees bordered with timber, and ' marais ' filled 
with rank, tall grass ; water not good. Products : Cattle, corn, 
cane, rice. Area, 3,800 square miles." 

We think it but just to say that the expression, " water not 
good " is rather too sweeping as applied to all that country.* It 
is quite certain that we have credible testimony, from Western 
sentiment, to the contrary. The prairie is situated in the par- 
ishes west of the Teche to the Sabine river, and in the soutn- 
west portion of the State, and is in the parishes of Calcasieu, 
Acadia, St. Landry, Lafayette, St. Martin, New Iberia and St. 
Mary. 

The next grand division, by Lockett, on his topographical 
map, is the "Alluvial Lands." This area he thus characterizes : 
" Soil : Black, dark red and reddish gray ; very fertile. Forest : 
Water and live oaks, gums, willows, cottonwood, elms, ash, 
etc. ; cane breaks common, highest on banks of streams. Pro- 
ducts : Cotton, corn, cane, tobacco, rice, oranges, bananas, etc. 

*Professor Eugene Hilgard, in Ms " Supplementary and Final Report of a 
Geological Recounoissance of the State of Louisiana,"' says of a part of Cal- 
casieu prairie : " Pretty good well water is obtained here at fifteen to twenty 
feet." 



32 SOME LATE WORDS 

Area, 5,G00 square miles." This area is one of the most fertile 
spots on earth, and one of the most enduring soils. Corn, cot- 
ton and rice are the main crops, and corn, oats and hay (mainly 
peavine) are merely adjuncts. From Col. M. B. Hillyard's book, 
"The New South," we copy the following, there accredited to a 
work of Dr. Joseph Jones : " Louisiana posseses, perhaps, the 
most fertile soil of any of the States of this Union, in virtue of 
the large proportions of the alluvium of the Mississippi valley 
inclosed within her borders." 

"As is well known, a wide belt of recent alluvium borders the 
Mississipi river, from the mouth of the Ohio to the Gulf, seventy- 
five miles wide in the greatest expansion at Napoleon, and 
twenty-five miles in its greatest contraction, at Natchez 
and Helena. The area of the alluvial tract, above the delta, is 
19,450 square miles. The depth of the alluvial deposits from 
Cairo to New Orleans ranges between twenty-five and forty feet. 
The area of the Delta of the Mississippi river, which lies al- 
most wholly within the borders of Louisiana, assuming that it 
begins where the river sends off its first branch to the sea, 
namely at the mouth of bayou Atchafalaya, is estimated at 12,- 
300 square miles. This would be at the mouth of Eed river, in 
latitude 31°, whilst the mouths of the Mississippi are in latitude 
29°, 80 that the delta extends through two degrees of space. 
The entire delta is elevated but a few feet above the level of the 
Gulf of Mexico, and from its fertile soil, and from its proximity 
to the Mississippi river and bayous, is perhaps as fertile as any 
body of land in this or on any continent, and is admirably 
adapted to the cultivation of rice and sugar cane." 

But the reader must be careful not to confound the delta of 
the Mississippi river with the ^^ Alluvial Lands,''^ of Prof. Lockett'a 
classification. While much of the " Alluvial Land* " are in the 
deltay there are considerable areas of " Alluvial Lauds " on Red 
river, the Ouachita, etc., and there is a considerable area of 
marsh land, " Coast Swamp," as Prof. Lookett terms it, in the 
delta of the Mississippi river. Then it must be remembered that, 
according to Dr. Jones, the delta only begins at the mouth of Red 
river, leaving all the area in the Mississippi bottom, outside and 
above the delta, to be classed as " Alluvial Lauds." 



ABOUT L0[JISIA:N^A. 33 

The north boundaries of Louisiana, on either side the Missis- 
sippi river, are not coterminous. On the west side the river, the 
north boundary of Louisiana is the State of Aikansas, across 
its whole area from the Mississippi east to the west boundary of 
the State of Texas. This north boundary, between Arkansas, is 
not a natural, but an arbitrary one, and is a straight line due 
east and west. On the east side of the river, Louisiana is fronted 
by Mississippi State for over a hundred and twenty-five miles in 
an air line, south. The river, for this distance, is the boundary 
between these States. After awhile the river runs through Lou- 
isiana, thus giving both sides of the river a bottom in the State. 
As a consequence, there is very little of " Alhivial Lauds " on 
the Mississippi river, on its east side, in the State : Ascension 
and St. James parishes representing its chief areas there. But 
to the point, now, of denominating the areas in the "Alluvial 
Lands," beginning at the northernmost parish in the State, at the 
point where the Mississippi river touches its territory : West 
Carroll is entirely in the belt; as are Madison, Tensas, Concor- 
dia, Point Coupee and West Baton Eouge. 

These parishes all succeed each other south. Iberville, both 
south and west of the last parish, has most of its territory on 
the west side of the river, in the " Alluvial Lands," but a little 
area projects to the east side; and all the parish is "Alluvial 
Land." Then comes a very small part of Ascension parish, on 
the west side -the main body being on the east side of the river. 
Next follows Assumption parish — all its territory west of the 
river, and in the "Alluvial Lands." Between its east boundary 
(it has no front on the Mississippi river), a little area of St. 
James parish is on the west side the river, it« main area being 
east of it. Still coming southward, and trending with, but not 
touching the river, comes the parish of Lafourche; it all being 
in the " Alluvial Land " belt, except some spots of " Coast 
Marsh," as it is denominated by Prof. Lockett, on the map in 
the premises. East of Lafourche parish, and south of St. James, 
a small area of St. John Baptist parish is west the river, leaving 
its main area on the east side. Then comes St. Charles, the 
river throwing about an equal quantity of " Alluvial Lands " on 
either side. South of Lafourche parish, west of the river, comes 



34 SOME LATE WORDS 

that of Terrebonne. This parish terminates in long, sprangling, 
aiiteiiuffilike poiuts, in the marsh. These capes of land look 
like the human hand, with open fingers : the capes 
standing for the fingers, and the intervening spaces 
occupied by the " coast marsh." And down these capes, 
course streams, emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. This parish 
has no part of its territory on the Mississippi river. South of 
St. Charles parish, and adjoining it on the river, is Jefl'erson. 
Its area is split, too, by the river; throwing a small area of 
*' Alluvial Lands " on either side of the stream. Down the river, 
and succeeding Jefferson, on either side, is Plaquemine parish. 
There are narrow areas of the " Alluvial Lands," mere strings of 
chis sort of land, looking like raveled shreds of the solid tissue 
above. Opi^osite, on the east side of the river, is a body of this 
" Alluvial Lands," carved into devious shapes by the incisions 
of " Coast Marsh " areas. On this area of " Alluvial Lands," on 
east of the river, Orleans parish, is built the city of New Or- 
leans. On the east side the river, and south of Orleans parish, 
is that of St. Bernard. This parish has a narrow strip of " Allu- 
vial Lauds " bordering the river, another body sprangling off 
southeast, and still another skirting south and southwest of 
Lake- Borgue. Going back now to the territory of " Alluvial 
Lands," on the east side of the river, where the north boundary 
of Louisiana abuts upon the south line of Mississippi, by an 
arbitrary division running east and west, we find a strip of West 
Feliciana parish in the territory of the " Alluvial Lauds " — a 
narrow area, bulging out here and there, like a pocket, in the 
bends of the river, and running the whole of its western boun- 
dary. Then south, succeeds the parish of East Baton Eouge, 
with a small area of the ^' Alluvial Lands" adjoining the river 
on the north and south sides of the west side of the parish, and 
terminating on the river. At Baton Rouge — the Capital of the 
State — the " Bluff Lauds" i^enetrate to the river, intervening 
between the " Alluvial Lands " area north and south of it. Into 
Livingston parish jut several small poiuts of the "Alluvial 
Lauds," on its south border ; from this area that proceeds in such 
force in Ascension parish. Thus we have, very unsatisfactorily, 
^iven a rough description of the " Alluvial Lands " adjacent to 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 8ff 

the Mississippi river, and mainly in its bottom. Much of it is a 
strip of land, behind levees, to keep out overflow, backed by 
" swamps.'' In proportion to area, a mere ribbon of land is 
cleared and in cultivation. The "swamps" (so called), is a wooded 
area, susceptible of being made arable, and is not irreclaimable, 
as might be supposed ; but is hard, firm soil, not yet wrested 
from the forest. The area, in the main, is densely populated ; 
divided into plantations, with narrow fronts, and running back 
to various distances. Every plantation once had a superb home 
(and many are still fine), with groves of magnolia, live oak or 
pecan, sometimes all these, with a sugar house and " quarters" 
for the slaves — long rows of cabins on either side of a single 
street. All vvere within easy view of the river, and " the float- 
ing palaces" once plying the Mississippi river, steamed by the 
very doors of the villas, and stopped on the fronts for passengers 
and freight. Before the war, this country was one of the richest 
and most prosperous parts of the United States, and its hospi- 
tality was most cordial, lavish and cultured. Its inhabitants 
were badly broken in the storms of the late war, but are now re- 
cuperating. No traveler ought to miss riding up or down the 
river, just to view the country. On either side the river now, 
above New Orleans, a railroad runs near the river ; one, the 
Mississippi Valley, clear along the east side, and the Texas and 
Pacific on the west side, for some way. South of New Orleans, 
on the east side, runs the Gulf and Shell Beach railroad quite a 
distance j and, on the west bank, below New Orleans, another 
railroad is to be built. Below New Orleans are some of the 
handsomest and largest orange groves in the world ; all around 
New Orleans, and for some distance above, upon the river, are 
many ; and there is a large area about, below and west of the 
river m the orange-belt proper. 

In West Carroll parish there is a narrow strip of " Alluvial 
Lands " of the Mississippi bottom in its middle-western border. 
In the parishes of Richland and Franklin, on their east lines, is 
also a vein of the same territory, which is, subordinately, bayou 
Macon bottom. Catahoula parish has a wide east side of these 
"Alluvial Lands:" the Mississippi bottom there stretching' away 
to the " Pine Hills " classification, although it is locally considered 



36 SOME LATE WORDS 

as bottoms of the various bayous traversing the area. In Avoy- 
elles parish there is much '' Alluvial Lands," a sort of common 
bottom of the Mississippi, Red and Atchafalaya rivers. In east 
St. Landry this " Alluvial Lands " stretches vrest, to a little east 
of Chicot, Opelousas and Grand Coteau, with the exception of 
narrow strips of prairies skirting the Teche on. either side, start- 
ing a few miles southeast of Opelousas, and running in that di- 
rection to near Franklin, in St. Mary parish. This " Alluvial 
Lands" belt in St. Landry pari(»h, (the " delta/' under the des- 
cription of Dr. Joseph Jones, and in general terms the Missis- 
sippi river bottom) is, subordinately, the bottoms of bayous Rouge, 
Wauksha, Crocodile, Boeuf, Courtableau, Teche, Atchafalaya et 
al. St. Martin parish is largely in the "Alluvial Lands J' bot- 
tom of the Mississippi river (with skirts of prairie along the 
Teche, on either side, on its western border, all through it, from 
north to south), but, subordinately, in the bottoms of the Teche, 
Atchafalaya and other bayous. Then comes Iberia parish, with 
its east part in the "Alluvial Lauds" of the Mississippi bottom, 
and, subordinately, the bottoms of the Teche and Grand Lake, 
with skirts of prairie on either side the Teche, narrow on the 
east side, and from six to twelve miles wide on the west side. 
Then comes St. Mary parish, with two distinct branches of " Al- 
luvial Lands " in the Mississippi river bottom, thrown into these 
divisions by the waters of Grand Lake, which, running nearly 
due north and south, divides the area. And, subordinately, this 
area is termed bottoms of the Teche, Atchafalaya, Grand Lake 
and Grand river. With the exception of a narrow area of prairie 
in the northwest corner of St. Mary parish, all its land is in 
Prof. Lockett's classification of " Alluvial Lands " and "Coast 
Marsh," including " Wooded Swamps." which is a common terri- 
tory with the " Alluvial Lands," as will hereafter more fully 
appear. 

We have thus far denominated the " Alluvial Lands " with re- 
gard to their situations in the Mississippi bottom — in a large 
and most comprehensive sense — and thts delta of the same. 

We now proceed to locate the "Alluvial Lands " of Louisiana, 
situated elsewhere. They are next in force in the valley of Red 
river. This river enters the State of Louisiana in its northwest 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 37 

corner, where it adjoins the State of Arkansas, about eighteen 
miles from the west boundary of the State, and runs nearly due 
south, in its main course, between the parishes of Oaddo and 
Bossier. Except an insignificant area in the extreme northwest 
corner of the latter parish, and a much more considerable area 
along the southwest, south and southeast border, this parish has 
virtually all its alluvial lands. On the west bank of the river, a 
long, narrow strip of the bottom or valley of this river consti- 
tutes " Alluvial Lands,'' most of the bottom being almost en- 
tirely on the Oaddo side, west of the river, for nearly twenty-five 
miles after it enters the north side of the State. At Shreveport, 
or near by, (he river sharply trends southeast, and the " Good 
Uplands" come prominently forward there, for a little way of 
the river's course, throwing the bottom into Bossier on the up- 
per side ; and this happens at several points above Shreveport 
(although the hills do not come so near the river), with a corre- 
sponding result, on the opposite area, in Bossier parish, of 
widening the bottom in the latter parish. Both Caddo and Bos- 
sier are long, narrow parishes, from fifty to sixty miles long, 
and, in no place, over about twenty wide. Their lands are en- 
tirely in Lockett's division of the ''Good Uplands" and "Al- 
luvial Lands," and this fact constitutes them an area of remark- 
ably fine lands ; for it may as well be said here, as anywhere, 
that the lands of the Red river valley are of superb quality, and 
the Western stock-raiser and grass grower will be delighted to 
learn that red clover flourishes on them as though it were in- 
digenous. From Shreveport, the reader bears in mind that the 
river trends southeast, on its way to the Mississippi. Leaving 
Bossier and Oaddo, it flows through the parish of Red river, 
making a thin strip of "Alluvial Lands," in its bottom along its 
west side border, in DeSoto parish ; but much of the force of its 
valley is in Red river parish. Its valley, in this parish, is 
about ten miles wide, in the main, by about twenty-four long, 
and containing about as much "Alluvial Lands." In Red river 
parish its bulk of bottom south of the stream, as Bossier 
and some less than Caddo. Of both DeSoto and Red river par- 
ishes may be said that their entire areas are in the classification 
of tUe ^* Goo4 Uplauas" m<\ the " AUuyJ?^! Xjands," Tl}§ v^Uey 



38 . SOME LATE WOEDS 

of Eed river, in the parish of that name, is on its entire west, 
southwest and south border. From this last parish the Ked 
river enters the parish of Natchitoches, and courses through the 
entire parish, giving all its bottom to the parish. Counting only- 
its air-line distance, as a crow should fly, and not regarding 
bends, from the point where it enters in the northwest corner of 
the parish to the point where it departs, on the southwest, it will 
be found to traverse, more or less, ten townships ; and we sup- 
pose that, estimating its distance around bends, there must be a 
mileage considerably in excess of the breadth of the townships. 
In one place, in Tipper Natchitoches, its bottom must be twenty 
or more miles wide, and, nowhere in the parish is it less than 
eight to ten miles in width. The bottom varies in width along 
the course of the river, now wider on this side, then on that, 
back and forth. Thus, this whole parish has a fine area of this 
grand Eed river " Alluvial Lands." And, an area. Cane river, 
subordinately, has one of the loveliest-looking countries, in some 
respects, ever setn. The southwest fourth part, thereabouts, and 
an area in the northeast part of the parish, are in the " Pine 
Hills " belt, as has been previously noted. 

Leaving Natchitoches parish, the Eed river enters Grant par- 
ish, at its county seat, Colfax, and throws into this parish a little 
area of its bottom, making, in the extreme southwestern corner, 
a piece of " Alluvial Lands '' about the equivalent of two town- 
ships in size. All the rest of this parish is in the belt known as 
the " Pine Hills," except a thread of territory about fifteen miles 
long, on the bottom of Little river, on the east side of the parish. 
This is " Alluvial Lands," and it is, approximately, from one-half 
to three miles wide. Alter its short run in Grant parish, Eed 
river takes a long run through Eapides parish. The river bot- 
tom is here skirted on either side by the "Pine Woods" belt, as it 
is in all of Grant and southern Natchitoches parishes, and the river 
hugs the pine woods on its northern side to some distance below 
Alexandria — the county seat — making a narrow skirt of bottom 
on its north side, and throwing the main width of " Alluvial 
Lands" on the south side of the stream. This belt is about two 
townships (twelve miles) wide in Eapides parish, and prevails 
through about five townships in length, making fifty miles or 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 39 

more around bends. In this parish, the Bayou Bceuff makes, by- 
its bottom, a very fine character of "Alluvial Lands,'" and adds 
to the area above allotted to the Red river valley, a considerable 
body of soil very like the Red river valley lands, and which is a 
fine sngar land. About twenty-five miles below Alexandria, 
Red river turns sharply to the north, at a point about halfway 
down the west boundary of Avoyelles parish (the east boundary 
of Rapides), and then "snakes" its way northeast, in northwest 
Avoyelles, and makes a devious boundary between this parish 
and Catahoula ; the latter here due north of the former. Almost 
the whole of Avoyelles parish is in the belt of '' Alluvial Lands" 
and the " wooded swamps," the former a correlative of the lat- 
ter, by reason of various bottoms of several bayous, and also 
another section of bottom, on the east side of the parish, of Red 
river; this river marking its east boundary, and there running 
south. The south line of Catahoula parish is in the " Alluvial 
Lands " belt, by reason of being in the Red river bottom there, 
and also by reason of being in the bottoms of the Tensas and 
other bottoms. These areas of bottom lauds constitute a rim of 
lands all along east Catahoula, and a heavy body in the south 
and southwest of the parish of "Alluvial Lands." Soon after 
leaving Avoyelles parish, the Red river empties into the Mis- 
sissippi river, in Point Coupee parish, and this we have denoted 
in our matter on the " Alluvial Lands " district of the latter 
river. 

The Ouachita river and its tributaries constitute the next large 
area of "Alluvial Lands" of the State. At Trinity, in Cata- 
houla parish, the Tensas and Ouachita rivers join and constitute 
the Black river — the latter running down as tne boundary be- 
tween Concordia and Catahoula parishes, and joining the Red 
river where the latter courses past across the south boundary of 
Catahoula. At Trinity, the Tensas runs northeast, and makes 
the boundary between this parish and the parishes of Concordia 
and Tensas, for a part of its course; and makes a long, narrow 
strip of "Alluvial Lands," on its bottom in Catahoula parish, 
from Trinity up to the north line of the parish. From Trinity, the 
Ouachita runs north, past Harrisonburgh- the parish seat — 
where the areas, known in our classification as the " Good Up- 



40 SOME LATE WOKDS 

lands " and '' Bluff Lands," approach the river and narrow its 
bottom greatly, and it deflects still more northwest, after escap- 
ing the environments of the hills of these two grand topo><raph- 
ical divisions. A little before the encroachment of the hills, 
just alluded to, the Boeuf river (to be distinguished from Bayou 
Bceuf) enters the Ouachita. Above the junction, the Bceuf river 
and Ouachita run nearly parallel, gradually diverging, and both 
flowing, approximately, from the northwest, for a distance, until 
the BoBuf trends northeast. The bottoms of these streams con- 
stitute a considerable body of the " Alluvial Lands " of Caldwell 
parish, and nearly balf its eastern area; a long, narrow neck of 
" Good Uplands,'' projecting north and south through the whole 
parish, and separating the "Alluvial Lands" from the "Pine 
Hill," which last traverse the whole west side of the parish, north 
and south, as the "Alluvial Lands " do on the east side. 

Near Columbia, the parish seat of Caldwell parish, the bayou 
Lafourche (there is a stream of the same name in Lafourche par- 
ish, in the southern part of the State) makes a junction with the 
Ouachita river. Both flow through Ouachita parish, north of 
Caldwell. These streams and the bayou Bceuf river, nine or ten 
miles east of bayou Lafourche, make, with their bottoms, a solid 
area of "Alluvial Lands" across the southwest corner ot 
Ouachita parish. An oval-shaped ar( a of the " Good Uplands " 
comes down from Northeast Ouachita, well down to its south 
boundary, on the east side of the parish. This protrusion of 
hill lands separates the common bottom prevailing in the south 
of the parish, and divides the streams for all the balance of the 
parish. Going north, we find a long, narrow belt on the east 
side of the ridge of " Good Uplands," which is the bottom of the 
Lafourche. On the west side of the ridge is found the bottom 
of the Ouachita river, making, through Central Ouachita, north 
and south, a belt of "Alluvial Lands," about half a township 
wide, except where an arm is projected east: the bottom of the 
bayou Lanniere. The Ouachita flows on past Monroe — the par- 
ish seat of Ouachita — and is found coming down from Arkan- 
sas through Union parish, and making the east boundary be- 
tween thi» parish and that of Morehouse. Before entering the 
former (say seven miles) a prong is thrown off northwest, mean- 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 41 

deling from nortliwcst of "^'ariiieisviric, llie pnrisli seat of Union. 
Th'S is tlie bayou d'Arbonne. Its bottom, from its body (as 
traced on t!ie map), from Central Union parish to its junction 
with the Ouachita, in North Central Ouachita parish, is about 
twenty-four miles long-, aud from two to four miles wide, consti- 
tuting a long, narrow strip of ^'Alluvial Lands." A few miles 
north of the junction just alluded to, the bayou Loutre runs 
down Irom Southeast Union parish and enters the Ouachita, 
making a triangular area of bottom, with the point in Union, the 
base in Northeast Ouachita parish. This portion of "Alluvial 
Lands," in both parishep, constitutes about the equivalent of a 
township in area. The Ouachita bottom, in East Union parish, 
is about thirty miles long, and from two to six or eight miles 
wide, adding to the parish that much "Alluvial Lands.'' Ln 
West Morehouse the bottom of Ouachita is wider, say from four 
to eight miles, and about twenty-four long. And the bayou Bar- 
tholomew, running southwest from Arkansas into the Ouachita 
river, from Northeast Morehouse, clear across the pariah, adds 
another narrow strip of "Alluvial Lands," say thirty miles long, 
and three to twelve miles (with the bottoms of subordinate 
streams joining the Bartholomew from the north), wide. Coming 
to bayou Lafourche and Boeuf river, we find them both making a 
body of solid bottom — "Alluvial Lands" — along all west Eich- 
land parish, from its north to south lines, about thirty-five miles, 
and from three to nine wide. The Bayou Lafourche forks in in 
northwest Richland parish and southeast Morehouse. Its north- 
east fork becomes, for some distance, the boundary between the 
parishes- the southern of the former, the northern boundary of 
the latter. Its west or north fork — as you please, — is little Bayon 
Boeuf, — not Boeuf river, — and is the boundary between Morehouse 
parish southwest and west for a part of the way, and Ouachita 
northeast and partly north. The northeast fork and the Boeuf 
river, — some miles further east, — make a common body or belt of 
the "Alluvial Lands," for quite a distance, in east Morehouse. 
Then the river Boeuf and the bayou Bonne Idee form a body. 
A few miles north, the latter flows through a belt of " Good Up- 
lands," (a large body coming down from north Morehouse -well 
south, and constituting a large portion of its central area), and 



42 SOME LATE WOEDS 

then tlie Bccnf river bottom constitutes the balance of the '' Al- 
luvial Lands " on the east side of the parish, clear to the north 
border. This Boeuf river, for nearly all the distance where West 
Carroll, on its west side, adjoins Morehouse parish on its east 
side, is the boundary between these paiishes; and it makes a 
bottom and a belt of " Alluvial Lauds" in east Morehouse and 
West Carroll. The body of " Alluvial Lands '' in east Mo'^ehouse 
is an unbroken belt, stretching clear along the east boundary of 
the parish, from the north to the south lines, through more than 
six townships, of variant widths, from a mile or two, in its ex- 
treme southwest area, to twelve or more in the widest part. In 
West Carroll, the Boeuf river bottom constitutes a belt of " Al- 
luvial Lands,'' along all the west border from south to north, 
until the "Blufi Lands'" come to the river in a limited area of 
the northwest corner, and eliminate the former quality of lands. 
In west West Carroll, this " Alluvial Land.-*" belt stretches from 
the south line north, through about three townships, and is from 
one or two, to six or more miles wide. 

Going over, now, to the extreme west side of the State, we 
find the Sabine river making a long, narrow belt of the " Allu- 
vial Lands" From a little north of Logansport, and a little 
above latitude 32 degrees, the Sabine river is the boundary be- 
tween the States of Louisiana and Texas. It runs through 
eleven or twelve townships southeast, then bends sharply south 
two townships or more; then trends about south, southwest 
twelve townships, and then southwest, two or more townships. 
It traverses about two and a half degrees of latitude, in covering 
the west side of the State. It makes a narrow fringe of 
bottom in Louisiana, constituting a mere rim of " Alluvial 
Lands,', never so wide as a township, and varying from two to 
five miles in width. Beginning a little above Logansport, in 
southwest DePoto, and coming south or southerly, it gives a 
ribbond of "Alluvial Lands'' there. It flows past all west Sa- 
bine, past all west Vernon, past all west Calcasieu, past all west 
Cameron, parishes, and is lost in tha Gulf of Mexico, at Sabine 
Pass, in the extreme southwest corner of this parish and of the 
State of Louisiana. 

In southwest Calcasieu, the '^ Coast Marsh" makes a neck of 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 43 



land into and west of the ''Prairies,'' and the classification of the 
bottom of the Sabine fails as " Alluvial Lands," and is put into 
the category of " Coast Marsh ; " which denomination it holds to 
the Gnlf of Mexico. 

Thus, we have tried to give some idea of the localities and ex- 
tent of the "Alluvial Lands" of Louisiana, as located on Lock- 
ett's topographical map of the State. But the reader must not 
believe that these are any more than only approximate. Every 
brook and stream has more or less bottom, consequently more or 
less " Alluvial Lands." These brooks and creeks are innumer- 
able ; as North and Central Louisiana are fairly veined with 
them ; and, owing to our rainfall being so great, and so well dis- 
tributed throughout the year; owing to our abundant springs, 
and shaded bottoms, preventing rapid evaporation ; owing to our 
atmosphere containing such a degree of moisture as to prevent 
that rapid absorption as is so marked in very dry climates, our 
streams are abiding in their flow (mainly), and are not freshet 
streams ; now bank-full and then bed-dry, as is the case in many 
localities. Then, the depth of oar streams is something wonder- 
ful; often a narrow,, insignificant-looking bayou (in point of 
width), has a depth, even in dry weather and lowest water, that 
astonishes the uninformed. Twenty feet depth is not uncommon, 
and sometimes thirty or more is found in a narrow stream that 
average conjecture would guess to be only five or six feet deep. 
It is a most forcible illustration of our wealth and inexhausti- 
bleness of water, and giving potent hints to the stock-raiser and 
those seeking water powers. And, the navigability of many of 
our streams is full of promise, when the future towns shall need 
them. The Ouachita, for illustration, is navigable, at times, up 
into Arkansas. , 

Next, we take up Lockett's classification succeeding the cate- 
gory of ^'Alluvial Lands"— that of "Wooded Swamps." We 
have endeavored to prepare the reader's mind for certain explar 
nations, by saying, incidentally, that the "Alluvial Lands" is a 
correlative of the " Wooded Swamps." Once, the " Alluvial 
Lauds '' were " Wooded Swamps." The accroachments of agri- 
culture have wrested from the forests and swamps much of the 
land in the category of " Wooded Swamps," and haye placed it 



SOME LATE WOEDS 



in that of " Alluvial Lands." As population conies in ; as the 
forests are cleared and drained, the " Wooded Swamps " disap- 
pear, and the " Alluvial Lauds " obtain. Settling on the edge 
of the stream at first, the agriculturist hewed his plantation or 
farm out of the forest. As the ;an<l, at and near the bank of the 
river, is generally higher than back, the land was cleared near 
the river, and the lower laud back (especially if prone to over- 
flow badly or cut with sloughs — "slues," in common parlance, — or 
covered in spots with ponds), left to the forest. This was, and 
is, called '-swamp." But, the term (in the main) is misleading j 
and nothing is more common than to find one man with a 
"swamp" near the stream back of his arable land, while his 
neighbor has arable land away back of his neighbors " swamp." 
The only difi'erence is, that the former has not cleared his 
" swamp" (which is only forest), while the latter has. We have 
ridden for miles through "swamps" bick of plantation-^, where 
there is no difference between it and the river front, except tha*-, 
from the latter, the trees have been cut and the stumps removed, 
while the former is wooded; and, with the further exception, that 
the uncleared land, being virgin soil, is even more fertile than 
the cleared land wrested from the " swamp" twenty, thirty, fifty, 
maybe a hundred, years before. Let the reader, therefore, not 
become possessed of the idea that the " swamp " is a bog or 
morass. There is but little such land iu the State. There are 
few "swamps" that are not re.idily reclaimable. They are 
(mainly) hard, firm soil, and only need sunlight and deforesta- 
tion to make them the equals, and even superiors, of the cleared 
land, on the river's or stream's front. From the above, it may be 
seen that the terms of Professor Lockett's map are measurably 
misleading; for much land once "Swamp Lands" is now, in fact, 
" Alluvial Landt^j" and the area of the laiter is constantly en- 
larging, while that of the former is constantly decreasing. And 
then, as an illustration of the truth of our delineation, and of the 
results of the late war, and its consequently crippled agriculture, 
some of the noblest plantations, where, under the old regimSy 
superb crops of cotton, sugar cane, etc., were ouce raised, have 
reverted to forests for ninc^^ of •:heir areas ; and are, to day, under 
the false and misleading nomenclature of the localities, denom- 



A T?r»TTrr T rvrTTCJT A XT A aK 



inated '' swamps " — a most vicious or pernicious provincialism. 
So, even in his day, Profes.<or Lockett's topographical map was 
only meant to be approximate. He could not give all the local- 
ities where the trees he allots to the " Wooded Swamps " 
category are to be fcund. Many, and even all, of the same 
trees grew elsewhere. He only meant to dtliueate the ^rec?o»n*- 
nant groich, and where it obtained in force. It would be a task 
of years to revise his work. We can only vaguely follow him, 
and point out (mainly, only, too,) the localities he delineates. But, 
the reader must only estimate our work as a clue. Let him not 
rely upon it as an assurance. For it must not be lost sight of 
that, there are .scores of saw mills in this State cutting cypretL-s 
alone, and that they are cntting all sorts of lumber; that millions 
of cross-ties, and much bridge timber are being hewed or have 
been ; that speculators have bought much ) that an army of 
workers are in the cypress-annihilating industries; and that tens 
of thousands of acres have been cut over, and the trees removed. 
We now proceed to quote Professor Lockett's description of 
these "Wooded Swamps:" "Subjected to deep overtlow ; not 
arable. Intersected by lakes, bayous and sloughs. Forest: 
Willow, cypress, tupola, gums. Product : Cypress, timber. 
Area, 4,300 square miles. Area of water surface, 4,700 square 
miles." When it is said that the above land is not " arable ' 
and "subject to deep overflow," it is meant (as we take it}, to 
apply to their then conditions. Land in forest is not, as forest, 
arable ; but, this does not mean that it may not become arable, by 
being clearfd. And, it is certain that, more or less land *.hat 
was, at the time the topographical map was constructed, 
" Wooded Swamps," is now in cultivation, having been cleared. 
And the phrase, " subject to deep overflow," requires explana- 
tion and qualification. This topographical map was published 
in the year 1872. Then, many of the levees (especially along the 
JVIississippi river), were down, or in wretched repair, and the 
" Al uvial Lauds," as well as the " Wooded Swamps," were 
" sul»ject to overflow," because of the high waters of that river ; 
and th n, thaflauguage, in exactitude, was applicable to both. 
i)u% s jice tht n, the levees have been rebuilt and impro^" 1, and 
ii is now claimed that the country naturally " subject to deep 



46 SOME LATE WOKDS 

overflow,'' by liigk. water in the Mississippi river, is safe from 
overflow, in the main ; especially that inhabited or subject to the 
plow. Of course, if the higher laud along the river was liable 
(or subject) to overflow, "the "Wooded Swamps" back were 
Bubject to still deeper overflow. And, if the high land there is 
not subject to overflow now, by reason of the perfection of the 
levees, the lower lands back, or " Wooded Swamps," are not, 
iecause these cannot, in many cases, be overflowed, but from the 
front.. ^Oi course, it is not meant that there are not mauy 
*' Wooded Swamjis" now, that are not "subject to deej) overflow," 
iDCcause many streams are not leveed J but, iu mauy "subject to 
this deep overflow," the water runs down iu a few hours, or a day 
or two; being only overflowed by freshets from rains; and this 
does not prevent these areas from being put iu grass, for stock- 
raising, or even cultivated crops ; and there are many such areas 
(cleared now), where the latter state of affairs exists. And here 
:we would emphasize the fact that many of these " Wooded 
Swamps" would make the finest of all possible stock-rauges or 
pastures, if put in Kentucky blue grass, white clover, etc., aud 
^re, in point of fact, very tine now, as " switch cane" is abund- 
ant in many, if not most, of them. 

I With the above explanations, we proceed to locate various 
areas of the " Wooded Swamps," as Professor Lockett terms 
them. We are much aided by the following communication from 
an eminent authority on the matter in question. It is invaluable, 
J)ecause it gives the newest or latest status of atiairs, and from 
pne of the most authoritative experts in the State, or even the 
South : 

; " The prevalent belief as to the unlimited area of the swamps 
and timbered swamp lands within the State of Louisiana, is of 
^he most exaggerated type.* The prejudices which have existed 
for years in the minds of the people in the uplands, as to the 
^tate of Louisiana being one-half marsh, or swamps, is one of 
those ignorancies which more naturally belong to the dark ages 
and the unlettered peoplts. It is not my purpose to refer to the 
uplands, nor the high alluvial lands of Louisiana, but to confine 
piy statements entirely to the swamps and the cypress brakes, 
^he map which was issued by Lockett, of the Stat^ of Louisiaaiji 



ABOHT T.OTTTSTAN-A, ^ 47 

very clearly indicates and specifies the various differences in 
cliaracter of the lands and timber of Louisiana. Apparently, 
these map-indications by Lockett cover an immense area, and 
correctly so. But since 1880 there have been decided natural 
and artificial means employed and, literally, at work reclaiming 
an enormous portion of this vast, classified " wooded s^vamps," 
and it will be no rash, but a broad assertion to state that over 
one-fourth of the " wooded swamps " area of Louisiana has been 
restored to what miglit, by courtesy, be called " Highland 
Swamps.'' We have simply to refer to the closing of the vast 
crevasses which deluged the parishes of East and West Carroll; 
parts of Morehouse, Madison, Tensas, Concordia; parts of Eich- 
laii'l, Franklin, Catahoula, Pointe Coupee, Avoyel es; parts of 
Iberville, Assumption, Terrebonne, Jefferson, Plaquemines on 
the west banks of the Mississippi river and on the east bank ; 
the volumes of flood which filled all the swamps in St. John 
Baptiste, St. Charles ; part of St. James and Livingston par- 
ishes, since the levee system was inaugurated, and which has 
been regularly and systematically enlarged and strengthened* 
These rich lands, in the parishes above referred to, and which 
have, for j^ears, been classified, as " wooded swamps,'' or over- 
flowed, have been brought back to the standard of hard-wood, 
timber and rich alluvial lands. And, to-day, we see lands yield- 
ing their fine crops of corn, and cotton, and hay, where a few 
years ago, boatmen in their pirogues and skiffs paddled from, 
mound to mound, carrying provender for imperiled live stock. 
And the vast area of swamp and overjioiced lands have been re- 
duced to the narrow compass of the lowlands, marshes and 
cypress brakes lying in South Louisiana, south of the Southern 
Pacific Eailroad, and extending to the Gulf, and along the great- 
lakes to the northeast of IS'ew Orleans and along the edges of 
the waterways of Central and North Louisiana. It was my ex- 
perience, a few months past, to inspect a cypress swamp in th© 
parishes of St. John Baptiste and St. James, which,' several 
y.^ars' since, was denominated " a shaking, bottomless swamp.'T 
1 discovered that, by the slow, yet sure, law of deposits and acJ 
cretions, the Bonnet" Carr6 Crevasse had left, from its flood of 
waters, a "wwd and materiaV^ deposit of more than four feet 
deep. This swamp is down on the maps and in the handbooks 



48 SOME LATE WORDS 

as '^ worililests, valueless for agriculture j'' and yet, I venture, 
wlien the timber standing lias been removed, this swamp will be 
looked upon and sought after by the shrewd, far-seeing "cab- 
bage grower," as the choicest bit of land in all the fcdr bosom ot 
Louisiana alluvial basin. This is no exaggerated statement. A 
visit to the section of country in the swamps around Frenier, on 
the Illinois Central Railroad, will afford the proof. The siipp'y 
of cypress timber in the State of Louisiana is fast being bi ought 
to its limit. Even now, we find the lumberman and the logger 
are forced, from necessity, to the " cable " process to draw logs 
from the outer limits of the depleted stamps into the wat r for 
floating, and in some sections it is necessary to construct tram- 
roads for S'^veral miles into the swamps, in order to reach tho 
cypress. For years, the Louisiana swamps have been called 
upon to meet the demands for cooperage to market her great 
sugar and molasses crops; to supply crossties fur the network 
of railways covering Texas and her own borders, and reaching 
out to the mountain-hearted land of the Moutezumas ; and to 
supply the tank maker, the architect, the boat builder and the 
shingle maker with material to satisfy their demands. And all 
of these demands have been met with tremendous strain and 
tension by the cypress brake. Is it a wonder that we, to-day, 
realize that our cypress brakes are fast disappearing ? That 
their value has not been appreciated! And that we must hus- 
band or economize, or we must, at an early period, have to draw 
on other States to supply our wants in cypress — at prices ten 
times greater than we sold our own cypress for ? 

There is another class of swampy lands which have, during the 
last few years, undergone most remarkable change in value. I 
refer to the low prairies of South and Southwest Louisiana* 
These broad acres, which, for generations past, have bean the 
home of the alligator, the wood fowl, and of solitude, are fast 
yielding to the inflnences of the " ditch and the drainage'' and, 
now, the farmer sows his rice and reaps his crop, and I predict, 
before another decade, the railroad will cross the lands where 
legend, tradition and prejudice have, for ages, proclaimed to the 
world, " A bottomless, shaking, trembling prairie." The world 
moves on — why should Louisiana stand still? 

" W. H. HOWCOTT." 



ABOUT LOUISIAIf A. „. 19 

! . 

I It would be irorse than TLselesa to enlarge upon Mr. Howcotf s 
letter, and to attempt a partlcnlarlxatioa of all tlie localities 
jwhere cypreas la to be found, or eren to define all the localities 
of the " Wooded Swamps.'* In almost every instance, these are 
on every itroam in the State ; and the streams ure almost nam- 
berless. 

I The delta of the Missippi, on all streams, is, or rather, has 
"been a great country for cypreaa. And, after Dr. Joseph Jonetf 
definition of the delta, weirillnot re-describe it, but say, in gen- 
eral terms, firom the Atchafalaya bottoms to the hills beyond the 
T^che, the Mermenteau, Plaquemlne, Kez-Pique, Vermilion, 
Q 9 de Tortue, Calcasieu (and subordinate streams) are good 
cj i)re8s localitiea. The bayou Macon, Boeuf river, bayou La- 
fourche, Ouachita river, bayou Dauchit* and portions of Bed 
river are strong in cypress. 

I ^But, after all this particulariztion, let not the reader be mis- 
led. Let him remember that millions of acres have been 
bonght; that cross- ties, bridge- timber, piles, fencing, shingles 
and numberless mills have absorbed, and are absorbing this 
timber. Its uses are growing all the while, and its appreciation 
is very rapid in public regard. And then, much cypress is not 
acceaaible, although it may be superb in "quantity and quality. 
lit is worth $8 to $10 per 100, in the log, at the mill. 
I The " Wooded Swamps " are often very rich in hard woods. 
Oaks, hickories (many species), ash, etc., are superb. 
j The last division on Prof. Lockett's map, is the "Coast 
Marsh," and almost uninhabited. The " Coast Marsh '' is, at 
present, almost out of consideration for the agriculturist or 
capitalist. Prof. Lockett thus describes it on the topographical 
map in question: "Subject to tidal overflow j not passable. 
Intersected by bayoos, lakes and trembling prairies, with islands 
of live oaks, covered with tall, rank grass. Products : Fish, 
game, rice, oranges, bananas, figs on islands. Area, 6,200 
square miles. Salt water surface, about 2,000 square mUes." 

This area is out of consideration for the agriculturist, because 
not reclaimed j out of consideration for the capitalist (meaning 
thereby the speculator), because a great deal has been purchased, 
at least, in its western area. Mr. J. B. Watkins, of Lake 



60 SOME LATE WORDS 

Charles, La. (headquarters), though living in Kansas, purchased, 
at a stroke, over one million acres of it. We understand his 
purchase to include about all the "Coast Marah'' in Vermilion 
parish, and in Cameron, to Lake Calcasieu, further west. West 
of that lake, a few gentlemen residing west of Lake Charles, 
own much, if not all the balance, of this " Coast Marsh," in the 
southwest corner of Louisiana, clear, or near to Sabine Pass. 
On the eastern part of this body of laud, a large tract is owned 
by a company having its domicile in New Orleans. 

Between Ijfew Orleans and Mobile ( " along the coast " ), clubs 
of sportsmen of the former city, own more or less, and have club- 
houses there where they shoot and fish. This " Coast Marsh '' is 
one of the finest winter cattle ranges on the continent. The 
soil is incredibly rich ; made so by its many factors of fertility, 
such as marine shells, dead fish, salt from overflows of the Gulf 
of Mexico, the humus from the rank, decayed grass of unnum- 
bered ages, and by the excreta of countless aquatic fowl that have 
been its resort for centuries. This last element of fertility puts 
the soil in the category of a quality like the guano of the Lobos 
Islands of Peru. Col. M. B. Hilly ard visited this spot, and wrote 
it up in the columns of the Times-Democrat^ and we shall give 
some of his descriptions hereafter. By burning this tall grass 
after it has been frost struck, room is given for the young grass 
to grow, which it does all winter. 

Besides the tall, rank grass, there is other food which the 
cattle are fond of — flag, water-parsely, etc. Some day this front 
of the sea marsh will be valuable as grounds for oyster-planting, 
fish-taking, terrapin-nurseries, etc. In Delaware, Maryland and 
Virginia, oyster-beds are very valuable. From them is fur- 
nished work for a thousand or more vessels (''oyster boats," in 
the parlance of the oystermen), and thousands of employes (of 
both sexes) find employment in "shucking" and packing this 
choice shell fish ; and even towns are built away out into the 
shallow sounds, in some localities, with oyster shells as founda- 
tions. The shores of our Gulf are just beginning to feel the 
impulse of oyster and shrimp-canning, and scores of these can- 
neries will spring into existence in the near future. Then the 
localities, where the finest oysters can be raised or "grown," will 



ABOUT LOmSIAiirA. 51 

be very valuable, and water-fronts will be In demftnd. Then, 
too, fish packing, "fish- guano" factories, fish oil establishments, 
etc., will some day be great industries ; and good geining-gronnds 
accessible must be had. It is not generally known that we have 
in the Gulf of Mexico the genuine " Diamond-back" of the waters 
of the Delaware and Chesapeake bays. Eetail, these terrapins 
sell, by the dozen (" counts "), for from ten to fifteen dollars, and 
larger ones as high as thirty dollars, in winter, per dozen. 
Every habitu6 of those renowned restaurateurs, Welcker, of 
Washington, D. O., and Delmonico, of New York, knows what a 
plate of " Diamond-back" is, and also what a plate costs 1 1 So 
far as we know, there are only two terrapin farms in the United 
States — that is for this species, — one on the eastern shore of 
Maryland, and the other on Mobile bay (in Alabama), ' The 
shallow bays, inlets, etc., afltbrd most admirable chances for- 
raising this crustacean along oui* Gulf front. It is a matter of 
course that, by twenty-five years from now, will be started two 
or three cities between Kew Orleans and Galveston. In all hu- 
man probability, one of them will be on Yermilion bay. Deep 
water can be had there. It can be made a superb harbor. No 
reason why it should not be made a great winter city. There, 
will be prodigious canneries of fish, crab, shrimp, oysters, 
etc., and cognate industries or those dependent. At points on the 
Gulf coast, between the southwest pass of the Mississippi river 
and Sabine Pass, there is a superb surf ; and summer cities will 
surely spring up, resorted to by parties who seek bathing, sea 
breeze, fishing, shooting, sailing, etc. Ac this date, a large 
hotel is being built at Grand Isle, as a summer hotel for those 
who seek the above-mentioned attractions. And a railroad is 
projected to that point, to accommodate travel there. It has 
been long noted for its superb surf. 

"We ought not to fail to say a few words about the splendid 
shooting in the " Coast Marsh " area. There, are more or less 
deer. But, wild duck, wild geese, and brant swarm there in 
myriads, in winter. The locality is one of the great winter 
habitats of the migratory fowls above named, that, forsaking the 
frozen regions of the West at that season, seek the locality in 
question. No adequate idea can be conveyed of the teeming 



62 SOME LATE WOEDS 

millions of these aquatic fowl that darken the air In flight, and 
fairly cover the waters of this coast marsh. But, wild duck are 
found, both summer and winter there and elsewhere in th© 
State. Their flesh fs delicious ; and many " pot-hunters " earn 
a livelihood in killing them. And in speaking of game, It ought 
to be said that no State in the Union at all compares with Lou- 
isiana in abundance and variety. Deer, wild turkey, woodcock, 
Jack-snipe, wild duck and geese are plentiful. In localities, 
wolves and black bear are numerous. Quail, rabbits and squir- 
rels are abundant almost everywhere, a little away from thick 
settlement. Prairie chickens are in goodly numbers on the 
southwestern prairies. Papabotes (plovers, two species), swarra 
in early spring and August there, and they are far superior in 
quality to the jack-snipe. Wild cats are easily found. Opos- 
sums and coons are almost a staple food for the colored people, 
in wooded areas, in winter. B^bins are in great numbers in 
spring, and doves and wild pigeons are in strong force. Many 
people trap ; and otters and minks are to be found on almost 
all streams where population has not cleared them out. 

Within the next fifty years, this " Coast Marsh " will probably 
be dyked and in cultivation. Its soil is superior, we think (if 
possible), to the " Alluvial Lands" of the Mississippi bottom, as 
there enter into its composition more constituents of fertility. 
The potash, phosphates, vegetable humus, lime (from shells), 
and ammonia (fixed), are astounding. As to the feasibility of re- 
claiming this area, there can be no doubt. Leaving entirely out 
of account the stupendous difficulties and triumphs of dyking 
Holland, the coast marshes (once), of our own country furnish 
abundant illustrations. The shores of the Delaware river, in 
many places, are illustrations. And Delaware, Maryland, New 
Jersey and Eastern Virginia, show plentiful territory wrested 
from sea or bay, as the case may be ; and where the " wild 
waves " played once, children now sport, and all crops possible 
to climate grow. 

We now give an extract from a letter from the pen of Col. M. 
B. Hillyard, who visited the coast marsh under the auspices of 
Mr. J. B. Watkins, the chief of the English syndicate which, 
bought such a large area of this sort of land from the State of 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 53 

Louisiana. The former gentleman gave quite an exploration of 
the area. The extract below la taken from The Times- Demoor at 
of New Orleans. It Is dated Lake Charles, Louisiana, April 2, 
1886: 

" But what a •ountry fbr the sportsman I Papabotes, Jack- 
snipe, wild duck without numb«. Had 1 brought gun and am- 
munition along, as poor a shot as I am, I could have almost 
loaded my boat with mallard and teal j for one could pull softly 
along the canal, step up the bank behind the levee, and get shots 
at swarms of these ducks from ten to fifty yards distant, in the 
iHimerous lakes. Even the geese had not yet all goue, and the 
men told me these wintered there in myriads. But Southern 
anil Western Louisiana is a sportman's paradise, and ought to 
have even a greater reputation than it has. 

The fertility of much of the soil in the marsh is, almost be- 
yond belief. -Where they are dredging, it was as black as tar, 
and greasy and slippery to the touch. How much deeper it w;is, 
no one could telL In parts of the embankment, nothing could 
be seen but this rich alluvion. In parts of the marsh, there is 
a capping of decayed vegetable matter, of a depth of one to 
three feet, and then a greasy, greenish, yellow clay, with more 
or less *' buckshot* in it. Very frequently there is considerable 
shell mixed with the substratum. The soil is very cretaceous, 
as can be seen by its cleavage — very similar to that of the rotten 
limestone of East Mississippi, more particularly. ' But aside 
from analysis — of which I know nothing, — all conditions show 
that this soil must be rich, for there are deposited dead Crustacea j 
shoals of fish hav« decayed there ; the rank vegetation of ages 
has rotted there ; wild fowl, feeding on fish, have deposited their 
excrement there through all the centuries : and this last element 
of fertility is the predominant one of Peruvian guano. 

It is in this sea marsh belt (as contradistinguished from the 
enclosed, or prairie belt), that the syndicate propose to winter 
their cattle. In summer, the flies and mosquitoes are deemed too 
troublesome. The canals will give them a dryer foot: and as the 
waters recede, grasses will be seeded. Bermuda, to our surprise, 
Jias got more or less foothold, and Timothy, meadow-fescue and 
iHerds Grass will undoubtedly luxuriate in many spots now." 



^ SOME LATE WORDS 

We now proceed to give some data with reference to one and 
another topic. 
The following are f!rom proceedings of a 

CONTENTION OP NORTHEKN-BAISBD MEM, 

held In New Orleans last snmmer, for the purpose of giving their 
views of their adopted home, Louisiana : 

Prof. KJoapp, as chairman of the convention, rose and intro- 
duced Chief Justice Edward Bermudez, in the following words : 

lAdles and GentleoMn of tlie ConTention : 

I have the pleasure to introduce to you, for an address of 
welcome, Chief Justice Edward Bermudez, to represent the judi- 
ciarj of Louisiana. 

ADDRESS OP WELCOME BY CHIEP JTJSTIOE EDWARD BERMUDEZ. 

Mr. Cliaixman and Grentlemen of the Convention : 

The chairman has announced me as a representative of the 
Judiciary on this occasion. This is a slight mistake. I appear 
in no official capacity whatsoever. I come as a private individ- 
ual to make a few remarks on this occasion ; and I do it as the 
equal of every one here, the superior of none (applaus<^). I come 
simply as a citizen of Louisiana, who has at stake the good of 
his State, and will not detain you long. The address 1 have pre- 
pared for you, I have made read as a judgmeat. 

The promoters of this convention have met for the purpose of 
taking such steps as may eflectually stimulate iuimigration, 
specially from the West and North. They are men of broad 
minds, of stout hearts, practical business capacity, who, made 
aware of the advantages to be derived in agricultural pursuits in 
the State, came to judge for themselves of her climate and salu- 
brity and the fertility of ner soil. After an experimentation of a 
number of years, they have announced themselves amply satis- 
fied and rewarded, and have settled permanently within her 
borders. 

THIS IS NO POLITICAL ASSEMBLAGE. 

Men generally congregate to avert a common danger or to pro- 
mote a common good. Seldom do they meet to accomplish a 



ABOUT LOUISIANA, 5& 

purpose, which, when realized, inures exclusively to the benefit 
of others. Still such seems to be the main object of those who 
have come together on this occasion. 

They have assembled to bear testimony to establish facts 
which will induce others to follow in their footsteps, that they 
may reap advantages similar to those which they have them- 
selves realized. 

They will announce in appropriate form the general resources 
and wealth of the State, and give the moral assurance to all who 
may trust them, that should they immigrate and settle here, 
under proper circumstances, and with the proper spirit and 
energy, their fondest aspirations will not be blasted, but on the 
contrary, will be fully realized. 

Joining them, the citizens of the State oflFer to immigrants a 
large quantity of excellent and cheap lands, much superior to 
thote in other States at like rates, scattered throughout the 
State, in its most fertile regions, well timbered, fairly roaded, 
and susceptible, by proper cultivation, of producing almost 

EYEKYTHING, NECESSARY AND USEFUL 

for their welfare and prosperity, and this with little or no pains, 
with hardly any capital except the indispensiable outlay to start 
with, and to have matters and things to move in the right di- 
rection. 

They offer to them a temperate climate, free from blizzards in 
winter, although trying at times, but usually bearable in summer; 
a country as healthy, perhaps healthier, than any other similarly 
situated. Of course, people will die here from diseases, as they 
do anywhere, but many live to quite advanced age. The mass 
is not afflicted with those extraordinary maladies which occa- 
sionally prey like scourges on doomed localities. 

Yellow fever once prevailing here, locally, and not as a general 
thing, has not made its appearance for many years, owing in part 
to wise sanitary precautious, and to the scattering of the popula- 
tions of cities. From all indications, this dreaded curse will 
never more show its hideous form, or if it does, it should not 
alarm settlers or planters in the rural portions of the State be- 
yond its reach. 



66 SOME LATE WOEDS 

TTB OFFER TO IMMIGBANTS ^ 

a law-abiding people, honest, charitable and chivalrous, ever 
ready to lend a helping hand to all needing and deserving as- 
sistance. 

Wo offer them the assriranc* that our people, as a body, is a 
moral people, reverencing religious principles, encouraging the 
development of morality and education, convinced (however 
much they may diverge on certain subjects on those matters), 
that honesty is the best policy, and that in their intercourse men 
must be controlled by the wise maxim : " Do unto others that 
which yoa wish othei*s to do unto you.* 

Others better informed on those topics, and who will follow, 
will adduce satisfactory proof that we have well regulated free 
schools and numerous churches, both of easy access ; that others 
are daily put up and maintained wherever the need of growing 
population requires, all over the State, and mt which all can 
learn, much more than the rudiments of knowledge and the fun- 
damiBntal principles on which morality And religion must rest. 

They will also show that justice is administered by courts in 
which the rights of life, liberty, property aad the pursuits of 
happiness are recognized and enforced under a system of legis- 
lation which is at least equal, if not superior to any other. 

In exchange, all that is expected is that those to whom those 
friendly and advantageous offers are extended, and who may ac- 
cept them, shall be upright, energetic, enterprising and public 
spirited m«n. 

Of Louisiana, as of !N"aplea, it may be well said that it is a 
fragment of heaven fallen on to earth. Indeed, the soil of Lou- 
isiana is such that, tickled with a hoe, it smiles iato a harvest 
(Applause.) 

Let such then come to us ; let them see and judge for them- 
selves of the sincerity of our representations ; let them settle 
among us, exert themselves as they ought to, and tjiey may rest 
assured that their undertaking, in no way hazardous, will be 
fully crowned with success, and that all will mingle fraternally ; 
and, with the blessing of Providence, enhance mightily the com- 



ABOUT LOUISIAl^A- 57 

mon good ; the prosperity and the greatness of a common be- 
loved State. To all we tender a hearty welcome^ (Great aj)- 
plause.) 
President EInapp then Introduced 

COL. JOSEPH A. BBEAI7Z 

State Superintendent of Public Education, who said : 

The public school system is not as useful as it should be. In 
certain localities it is not useful at all. We are pleased to greet 
you. You will aid the large and influential number in our State 
who consider the common school system as a great factor in 
American civilization. The influence of this large and influen- 
tial number prevailed during the session of the General Assem- 
bly held this year. The school laws were remodelled. The reve- 
nues were increased j not sufficiently, it must be regrettingly ad- 
mitted. The restrictions in the organic law prevent such an in- 
crease as is needed, Why these restrictions were incorporated 
in the State Constitution adopted in 1879, it is useless to discuss. 
They are restrictions upon education, and for the time being 
they must be obeyed. In the law lately adopted, provision is 
made to increase the revenues for schools in the parishes. The 
minimum of taxation levied in the parishes heretofore was gen- 
erally one mill. 

TJoder the present law, it should be one and a half mills, and 
may be as many mills in addition, as the Police Juries see proper 
to appropriate. 

This is a local tax. In addition to the State apportionment 
for the support of schools, there is a poll tax and the free school 
interest tax. 

In parishes in which there is a healthy public opinion regard- 
ing schools, an increase in revenues from this local tax will be 

obtained. 

Where there is no great love for the school law, and where 
manda'<;ory provisions in this connection are as naught, and 
where the feeling is one of indifference to popular education, and 
there exists no sympathy for those who are anxiously seeking to 



58 SOME LATE WORDS 

escape being classed among the children of darkness and ille- 
teracy, this provision of the law will not accomplish much. 

Immigration should be favored. It is of the utmost impor- 
tance. 

An intelligent immigrant in search of a home (by the way, 
most immigrants are intelligent ; generally the dullard does not 
immigrate), will not fail to enquire about the schools. 

He well knows that in most communities where the schools are 
entirely neglectedj where the schools do not inspire the least in- 
terest, there are not many citizens prominent, because of their 
excellent qualities and good traits. 

The schools epitomize the State. They reflect the excellor ce 
of the community. 

The present generation in Louisiana is not discharging its 
debt, in so far as relates to the common schools. This debt, 
should no longer be overlooked or neglected. 

The Legislature has provided for holding Institutes, State and 
local. The former is in charge of the State Normal School, at 
Natchitoches. The latter is left to the management of parish 
superintendents. There are two Normal Schools in the State. 
The one just mentioned, and another in New Orleans. The latter 
is mostly, if not entirely, local ; with time, it will doubtless, extend 
its usefulness. 

There is a University in New Orleans. The Tulane, to which 
I refer, because it has received consirierable aid from the State. 
My object being at this time to limit my remarks to iustitations 
under its control, I will not refer to all its departments, but I 
will mention that it has a literary, also a technical and mechani- 
cal department. There are a number of students in this depart- 
ment. The management is excellent. It is receiving the appre- 
ciation it deserves. There is also a university for colored stu- 
dents : The Southern University. It is endowed by the State, 
and receives consideration and attention on the part of those in 
authority. There is an institution of learning in Baton Roug«) 
the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical 
College. HopQ i» (entertained that this university will increase 



ABOUT LOCnSIANA. » 

its us<'fulii<'sa. The tuition is free. The costs of support of the 
students have been lately very much reduced. It is proposed, I 
understand, to make this institution especially useful in training 
young men in the science of agriculture, at the same time, they 
are taught the usual curriculum generally adopted in the institu- 
tions of learning. 

There are experimental agricultural stations, regularly organ- 
ized. The students have the benefit of the educational advant- 
ages oflered by these stations. They are estimated, I may say, 
with the institution. These stations are under th» direction of 
an agricultural bureau. 

The officers are : 

The Commissioner of Agriculture. 

The President of the University. 

The Professor of Chemistry and of Agriculture of this Uni- 
versity. 

These stations are well endowed and are in satisfactory condi- 
tion. This bureau, these stations and organizations have ex- 
cited interest in agricultural science. 

Planters and farmers have improved. They have adopted 
methods more economical than heretofore. The fertility of the 
soil has been stimulated, and yields considerably mor« than here- 
tofore. 

Drains are being improved; better machinery and field imple- 
monts are now in use. I am well aware that I have not made 
extremely favorable statements in regard to the common schools. 
They are not ^ hat they should be; but do not conclude that I 
am at all despondent, even in regard to the common schools. 

The advantages in Louisiana are many. They will be de- 
veloped. The common schools will receive deserved attention 

and support. 

• •m*mmmmmmitt • 

As to common schools, although the revenues are not as much 
as they should be, the citizens, despite Constitutional restric- 
tionSj will devise ways and means to improve them and make 
them worthy of the State and its jieople. In welcoming you to 
our State, we feel particularly pleased, for we know that you will 
not be slow in taking part in this good work, (Great applause.) 



60 SOME LATE WOEDS 

ADDRESS OF WELCOIvrB BY EEV. DR. B. M. PALMBB, 

whose name was next upon the programme of speakers, was 
heartily greeted on rising. He delivered an able, thoughtful 
address OD " Eeligion and Churches of Louisiana," as follows: 

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen of the ConventloBi 

In reading the iTew Testament, I find its epistle* opening and 
closing with salutations to the parties addressed ; and I see no 
reason why, in our day, the angels of the church might not ad- 
dress similar greetings to all who approach them. It is for this 
simple purpose, that I appear this morning. 

The highest legal representative of this commonwealth has as- 
sured you of the protection which the law extends to all, equally 
and without distinction. The superintendent of public educa- 
tion has spoken of the condition of our schools j and how those 
present, and all who came to abide with us, are entitled equally 
with OUT selves to take advantage of these privileges. Although 
speaking simply as an individual, having no o£B.cial authority 
from that branch of the church to which I belong, and still less 
from other branches of the church to which I am closely related, 
it is not unbecoming in me to point to the open doors of all 
our sanctuaries, and to assure all those who come with honest 
intent within our borders, that they are welcome to all the privi- 
leges of the sanctuary. You may perhaps ask me for a guaran- 
tee of this broad statement. Let me remind you that Christian- 
ity is nothing, if it be not love ; and if the church breathe the 
spirit of the Gospel, she must open her arms to all who come 
with honest and good intentions. 

Least of all can the church afford to be indifferent to the claims 
of those who come in a Christian spirit. Every man who is 
virtuous, every man who is intelligent, who has the love of God 
in his heart and desires with us to extend the Eedeemer's king- 
dom over the world, has precisely the same place in our homes 
and in our churches as those who are to the manor born ; and to 
such is due welcome, not only to the privileges' of the sanctuary, 
but to the fellowship and esteem which the first implies. But 
there is an additional guarantee. We of the South have been 
made to lay especial emphasis upon the distinction between the 



ABOUT LOmSIAI^A. CI 

Church and the State. We have been compelled to regard the 
church as purely spiritual — her functions as purely spiritual. 
She has no commission from her Divine Head to control govern- 
ments or to alter the complexion of legislation. Whatever our 
individual relation to the State as citizens, whatever we might 
feel free to do as members of our churches, ofBcially we regard 
ourselves as confined to the simple function of preaching the 
Gospel, and saving the souls of our fellow-men. I believe that, in 
all the branches of the Christian church in Louisiana, their out- 
look is simply uj^on the world, and their sole care the bringing 
of men into the kingdom of the Eedeemer. They have nothing 
to do .with the distinction of party, race or sect. 

Their simple desire is to fulfil that revelation which God has 
given to them, and to open the portals of the kingdom into 
which the blessed are permitted to enter. From their convic- 
tions, they are compelled to be liberal and generous hearted. It 
is impossible for the church, understanding aright its mission and 
its proper character, to be sectional or partisan. In proof of 
this, I have simply to point my finger to the open doors of the 
church's sanctuaries, and to bid each of you welcome to all the 
privileges of the house of God- Even during the dark and dis- 
mal days of reconstruction, when it was necessary that some 
degree of caution should be exercised as to parties coming to us 
from abroad, no man who came to us from the North or the West, 
giving evidence of his intention to assimilate with us, to share 
with us our public and private fortunes, and to advance the in- 
terests of the land wherein he was about to dwell — no such man 
was, in any quarter, ever refused the heartiest recognition ; and I 
am satisfied that there are men in this city of New Orleans who 
will deliver their testimony, that the way to office in the church 
of Louisiana is as fairly open to such men through an honest 
election of the people, as to those who are to the manor bom. 

I feel free, therefore, as a Christian man, knowing somewhat 
of the Christian spirit of the people amongst whom I have 
dwelt for a third of a century, to extend to all who come 
with honest intent, a hearty welcome, until the blessed tid- 
ings of a common salvation has been spread over the face of the 
earth. I regard this as a sacred right due to yoa through the 



«8 ^ SOME LATE WOEDS 

will of the Father of us all, a right granted to all men by the 
Eling who dwells in Heaven above. 
Then followed 

A BEAUTIFUL POEM OF WELCOME, 

by the distinguished poetess, Mary Ashley Townsend. 

ADDEESS OF WELCOME BY HON. JOSEPH A. SHAKSPEARE, 
MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS. 

Hon. Joseph A. Shakspeare, Mayor of the City of New Or- 
leans, amidst much applause, spoke as follows : 

Gentlemen of the Convention : 

I welcome you in the name of the City of New Orleans, know- 
ing that you are assembled here for oue of the most momentous 
occasions ever held in Louisiana. If there is one State in the South 
that needs such a convention of gentlemen as I lee before me, it 
is Louisiana. We are suffering for immigration. Not that class 
which has at times found its way here, but those of the superior 
kind to which you belong. (Hearty applause. ) 

Louisiana lands are as fruitful as any in our country. Hef 
climate is excellent, and her health (thanks to the Board of 
Health), has lost its old reputation, and yellow fever has, it 
seems, been shut out. 

,gWhy, the idea of a convention at this time of the year is re- 
markable, and there are more people in New Orleans now than 
for years. My own family has been here all summer for the first 
time since 1878. I hope that this will be the beginning, and not 
the end of an immigration movement. There have been many 
conventions of this kind held in our city. I was connected with 
one myself some years back, and we spent money in it, too, but 
it was too soon for such a movement, and nothing came of it. 
Now, gentlemen, is the proper time to bring people such as you 
are to this State. 

I again welcome you to our city. (Great applause.) 

The next address was made by 

DB. a p. WTLBINSON, 

president of the State Board of Health. He read as follows, re- 
jrardiBj^ data and statistics of the health of Louisiana : 



ABOUT LOniSrAKA. «3 



Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention : 

The task allotted to me in the programme is one npon which I 
have entered with a great deal of pleasure, because it has enabled 
me to bring before you, and through you, before the general pub- 
lic, certain indisputable truths to establish the fact that the 
fertile State of Louisiana is among the most healthy of the States 
of the Union. 

Abroad, it is the common belief that a white man cannot dwell 
an entire summer in Louisiana, without passing through spells of 
perilous sickness; this erroneous belief especially applying to 
recent arrivals from otner sections, those to the manor born being 
sometimes allowed an exemption from the fatal influences of the 
atmosphere alleged to float continually over our fields; to be 
inured to the arid, scorching heat which beats, untempered by 
cooling breezes; to be hardened to influences which would 
quickly kill any other Caucasion, through a process which, for 
want of a better or less bad appellation, is termed " acclimatiza- 
tion." 

The influences which this gathering of stalwart men, strong of 
arm and clear of eye, and altogether unacclimated, will have upon 
an elucidation of the entire truth, can hardly be estimated. No 
word from friends can magnify or exaggerate the condition of 
facts when you are here to act, to speak, to demonstate for your- 
selves ; and the voice of the traducer must, in the presence of 
this assembly, be still. 

Probably the principal obstacle which has hifherto existed 
against the influx of settlers from Northern and Western States 
into this, has been the annual outcry raised against us of yellow 
fever. 

Forty years ago danger from this cause seemed to operate only 
in the city of New Orleans. Refugees fled no further than the 
villages beyond Lake Pontchartrain, to the pine woods of East- 
ern Louisiana and Southern Mississippi, to the plantations on the 
Lafourche and along the coast, and maintained unrestricted in- 
tercourse with the stricken city without apparently disastrous 
results to the exiled. 

In the year 1878, the disease spread over the entire South, fol- 
lowing in the track of travelers from infected regions, and invad- 



64 BOMB LATE WOEDS 

ing retreats of high altitudes hitherto deemed more than surely- 
safe from a visitation. The recollection of that epidemic lives 
now j)rincipally In the memories of the individuals who survived 
some loss, and of the thoughtful sanitarian. 

The dread of yellow fever previous to the year 1878, in the 
country, a matter afar off, became then a known and tangible 
fear; and afterward, irresponsible and untraceable rumors of 
the appearance of this disease, without foundation of fact, annu- 
ally created alarm, and did much to deter enterprising men from 
entering and locating their homes within this State's borders. 

This dread has now in a great measure subsided, from two 
causes ; the first, that no grounds for suspicion have occurred ; 
that no symptom of a case of yellow fever has developed in the 
State within the past few years ; and the second, that the Board 
of Health stands solemnly pledged to give the very first case 
the fullest and widest publicity. 

The slightest study of the history of yellow fever, and of 
quarantine operations within this State, will convince you that 
mortality from the one, has decreased jpari ^a««M, with better and 
more complete application of the other. During the first decade 
of the past forty years, nine years of which this city was with- 
out any quarantine, and the one year it did exist barely in name, 
more than half of the total deaths from yellow fever of the 
whole forty years occurred within that short ten ; the other 
lesser portion being distributed, with lessening number every 
year, over the remaining thirty. 

From a close study of the operations of the various quaran- 
tine systems, successive Boards of Health have evolved plans, 
until to-day, one exists which is certified by disinterested parties 
as superior to anything at present in the world. 

Co-incident with the evolution and application of the present 
quarantine service, ceased the annual appearance of yellow 
fever on shipboard at the wharves of this city, or among those 
persons but recently in communication therewith. We are now 
in the middle of the third year of total exemption from yellow 
fever j in my opinion, an exemption most closely connected with 
the application of our quarantine service. I am too familiar 
■yitJ> the fallibilit^y of human nature ; too well aware of our 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 65 

ignorance of the laws which control epidemio diseases and the 
susceptibility of a community to overcome or be prostrated by 
epidemic morbid influences, to state authoritatively that we 
have found the means of securing ourselves against an invasion 
of the dreaded enemy ; but I do confidently assert that, if un- 
disturbed in its quarantine operations, if left to work out the 
problem with the aid of the best men and material at its com- 
mand, if unthwarted by the jealousies of individuals, or by the 
undetected evasions of rules by travelers and mariners, the safe 
solution of the question, by a Board of Health, is not far distant. 

But with the problem solved, and mortality from yellow fever 
unmentioned i our records, the rate in the city of New Orleans 
is not what it should be, not yet placed in the high rank to which 
it is entitled by its natural advantages. 

The mortuary statistics are published weekly, and the records 
being open to public inspection and comparison, I will not tire 
you by reciting a mass of statistics, other than to mention the 
three principal causes of death and their percentage to the total 
roll, for the two years, in this city ; two periods of time which 
may, with justness, be cited as a fair sample; since neither pre- 
sents anv marked variation from the usual. 

In 1886, the deaths in this city from fevers of all kinds, were 
379, or 6.20 per cent, of death from all causes ; from consumption 
889, or 12.55 per cent j from cholera infantum 188, or 2.88 per 
cent. 

In 1887— All fevers 332, or 6.36 per cent.; consumption 773, or 
11 per cent., and cholera infantum 171, or 2.81 per cent., both 
white and colored included. In this calculation is also included 
the deaths in the Charity Hospital, an institution drawing pa- 
tients from every section of the country; these deaths, amount- 
ing in 1886, to 960, and in 1887 to 941. Thus, you see an im- 
provement in 1887 over 1886, an improvement which will become 
more marked as our citizens advance in their knowledge of 
hygiene and sanitation. 

The efforts which are being made to have these two branches 
taught in our public schools, efforts which I trust and believe 
will be successful ; the attention of our people being directed 
towards drainage and municipal sanitation; the constant discus* 



66 SOME LATE WORDS 

sion of the subject, and the dissemination of information in the 
matter now undertaken by our sanitarians, are all most potent 
factors towards the education of the people and will most posi- 
tively be productive of excellent results. 

The city of New Orleans has improved in its death rate re- 
markably in the last half century, and though not yet as low as 
it should be, the interest so plainly manifested in the subject by 
her people, make the conviction certain that within a few years 
her rank, from a position lower than the average of the healthy 
cities of the Union, will be placed on a plane with the healthiest 
in the world. General and persistent attention through the 
channels of drainage and municipal sanitation will very soon 
reduce that mortality, which is now the fault of our citizens and 
not of our situation. 

1 will present to you the unbiased and disinterested testimony 
of Mr. Wm. P. Stewart, the actuary and vital statistician of the 
Mutual Life Insurance Company, of New York, whose business 
is to inquire into the vital statistics of sections of the country 
where that company proposes to establish offices. He Bays of 
Louisiana : 

" You can ask for no better evidence of the fact that your 
general healthfulness is now recognized as assured, than to con- 
sult your best informed business men on the significance of the 
action of the Conservative Mutual Life Insurance Company 
coming into your midst. No one indication of the year has so 
much encouraged them as this, because they know this company 
speaks for the largest financial corporation of the world, the 
soundest principle of mutuality, and the most conservative busi- 
ness interest. • • * I have already expressed my convic- 
tion that you are destined to grow into recognition as the great 
winter resort, and I now venture to prophesy that, with the 
newly awakened spirit of your people, you will see before the 
next decade, a commerce doubled, a population increased 50 per 
cent, and a property value as will make fortunes for those who 
venture as business men. I have been charmed with the river 
scenery, the like of which is nowhere else to be found. The 
many village-like plantations, with their evidences of wealth, re- 
finements and comfort; the broad sweep of river ; the luxurious 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 67 

spread of foliage j the inviting stretch of land; the character- 
istic homes of the wealthy are nowhere else to be seen j and 
with the trim, tree-shaded, glistening white cottages, go to make 
up a panorama such as would delight the eye of the most trav- 
eled tourist, and put to shame the merest suggestion of " stored- 
up disease." 

The evidence of like disinterested character which I will pre- 
sent to you is the United States census of 1880, the completed 
volumes of which are only just published. There is no other au- 
thority from which we may draw practical conclusions ; the basis 
is only for 1880, and, as no visitations of epidemic scourges took 
place in ai y section of our country that year, the standard may 
be accepted as conclusive. 

The errors incidental to one place are practically common 'to 
all, and our inferences drawn from a study of the table pre- 
sented should be accepted as very nearly correct. 

After careful and repeated examinations of the tables pre- 
sented, I am surprised to find that the different localities of the 
Union do not differ largely in the aggregate to their mortality; 
the extreme, from lowest to highest, being only 8 in 1000 of pop- 
ulation. 

The average mortality, for the whole United States, is 14.70 per 
1000 for the whites, and 17.29 for the blacks. 

For the white, Oregon is first, with a mortality of 11.04 per 
1000, with Minnesota an excellent second at 11.51, and Arkansas 
brings up the foot of the list with a mortality of 19.11, very 
closely pushed by educated and scientific Massachusetts, with a 
mortality of 18.56. 

For the blacks, the negro enjoys the greatest exemption in 
Florida, having a rate of mortality in that State of 11.36 per 
1000. He has a very hard time in Ehode Island, where his mor- 
, tality is 27.10, and he is very much worse, and the very worst off, 
under the very eye of his particular guardian, the general gov- 
ernment ; for his mortality, in the District of Columbia is 35.62 
per 1000. • 

Now as the position which Louisiana occupies in the white list. 
I am very sure that Vermont, Tennessee, Indiana and Texas 
have each of them enviable reputations for healthfalness, and a 



68 SOME LATE WORDS 

favorable compariaon of Loaisiana with any of the four, would 
undoubtedly, excite derision. 

^ What are the facts! Vermont has a white mortality of 15.12 
per 1000; Tennessee, 16.21 ; Louisiana, 15.45 ; Indiana, 15.88, and 
Texas, 15.86 ; or, in this group of known healthy States, Louisi- 
ana stands superior to two, and presents only a very fractional 
inferiority to the others. 

The relative positions of the States, including the whole popu- 
lations, are tabulated and are annexed to this report, which is 
submitted to you for your disposal, but the reading will occupy 
too much of your time. 

Vital statisticians place very much reliance upon the propor- 
tion of deaths of children under five years old as indicative of the 
good or ill health of locality. This is undoubtedly a correct in- 
dex of a fact, but its significance is, in my opinion, incorrectly 
applied. The laws which apply to the health and growth of an 
infant are very similar to the laws which govern the life and 
growth of other things. Suitable food and suitable protection 
from effects of varying temperatures, are equally necessary 
in the nursery of human habitations and in the nursery 
of a florist. The rate of mortality of children, under five 
years, marks with unerring finger, the ignorance, superstition, un- 
cleanliness and indifference of grown persons, and not at all the 
conditions of climate. An index, indeed, of moral fault on part 
of a people, but of little intent in reference to the salubrity of a 
locality. 

Outside of large cities, in the rural regions of the State, the 
deaths from that universal disease, consumption, and the deaths 
of persons having passed beyond ninety-five years of life, is, in 
my opinion, the truest and best exponent of the climatic condi- 
tions and life possibilities of any given place. 

Typhoid fever is now generally accepted to be dependent upon 
the purity of the drinking water supply, and is a matter of local 
or individual prevention. 

Malarial fever tells the Sanitarian of undrained soils, impure 
water for drinking purposes, and individual neglect. Without 
reference to other agencies which bring about those paroxysms 
or fever which are desighatf^d by this name, I advance the com- 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 69 

monly accepted doctrine that, the most potential factor in the 
origin of this disease is humid soil, and therefore, the percentage 
of mortality from this disease is hardly at all due to the climatic 
causes, but to imperfect or impossible terrestrial dryness. 

It is unoeccessary to appeal to your medical men for corrobor- 
ation of this statement You know its truth yourselves, every 
one of you, I venture to say, from personal experience. Ex- 
amples confirming the truth of my assertion are of daily oc- 
currence. Returning to official figures, and now excluding the 
large cities, we arrive at tables which meet our purpose — the 
relative salubrity of the rural portion of each State. 

The highest on record of percentage of deaths from malarial 
fever stands Florida, with 9.53 per cent of its total mortality 
from this disease ; the lowest Rhode Island, with only .08 per 
cent In between these two extremes come the other States ; 
those adjacent to our great streams showing a hi[>;her rate than 
the others. Arkansas has 7.65 per cent, Alabama 7.35, Missis- 
sippi 7.06, Louisiana 6.06, and Texas 8.04. Our own State show- 
ing more favorably than any of her neighbors, save one, in a 
mortality springing from a disease largely preventable by or- 
dinary attention, by the mass of the people, to the plainest and 
simplest laws of hygiene. 

The least infant mortality is exhibited in New Hampshire, 
which has 20.88 per cent of infant, to the total mortality ; Maine, 
24 57; Vermont, 24.10; California, 25.31; New York, 25.39; 
Connecticut, 26.75 ; Massachusetts, 29.21 ; Ohio, 34.36 ; Rhode 
Island, 33.69; Oregon, 34.99; New York, 35.52; Wisconsin, 
35.61 ; Pennsylvania, 36.15, and then Louisiana with 38.05, the 
list ending with Kansas and Nebraska, the highest rates in the 
Union — Kansas, with 47.56 and Nebraska with 49.12 per cent. 

In this list Louisiana is not preceded by any Southern State. 
And should the calculation be based on the population only, or 
on an equal per cent of colored to white, which exists in each of 
the Northern States ahead of her, her rank would not be fif- 
teenth, but third or fourth. The infant mortality among negroes 
is enormously large, as, from their habits, it must be. Substitute 
a comparison between the whites in the rural sections of the 



70 SOME LATE WORDS 

Union, North and South ; and many of our Southern States 
would show that our people cared well for their young. 

The mortality from consamption, that dreaded, universal, and 
almost hopelessly fatal disease, can, in the country, where the 
close confinement in sedentary occupations, in ill-ventilated, 
crowded apartments, does not exist, may be taken as a fair cri- 
terion of the actual influence of climatic conditions on the in- 
habitants. Arkansas enjoys greatest exemption from this dis- 
ease, with percentage to its total mortality of 6 42 ; Texas sec- 
ond, with 6.05 per cent; Nebraska third, with 6 93; Kansas 
fourth, with 7.54; Louisiana fifth, with 7.41 ; Florida sixth, with 
8.14; Oregon twentieth, with 12.12 per cent; California thirty- 
third, with 15.80, and Mtune the very last, vith 19.16 per cent. 

These figures represent the death rate, and do away with the 
suggestion that the mortality from the disease is largely influ- 
enced by invalids seeking the curative powers of certain cli- 
mates. That influence is, in reality small, because a larger num- 
ber of those unbenefitted return to their homes to die; and 
rarely do friends carry away from home patients in the last 
stages of this disease. 

The percentage of deaths of people over ninety-five years to 
the total mortality, or, in other words, the proportion of old 
people in a State, demonstrating beyond cavil the possibilities 
and probabilities of life in those localities, is exhibited by the 
census, as follows : 

Vermont stands first, with a percentage of .70 of old peo[)le to 
total mortality ; and Louisiana second, with .62; Florida sixth, 
with 62; Rhode Island tenth, with .45 ; Tennessee twentieth, 
with 27, and Nebraska last, with only .03 per cent. 

From the foregoing facts, we may conclude, with certainty : 

1. That Louisiana enjoys, relatively to her neighbors, a favor- 
able position in regard to mortality from malarial fevers ; being- 
superior to Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, and 
only a small fraction inferior to Texas 

2. That her percentage of deaths of children places her above 
any of the Southern States ; and, if like population be comi)ared 
with like, her position will be third or fourth among all the 
United States. 



ABOUT LOCnSTAlTA. 71 

3. That her position in reference to the lowest rate of deaths 
from consamption, a diac^ise very dependent upon climatic con- 
ditions, is fifth. 

4. That her percentage of deaths of old people places her 
second among all the States for possibilities of long life. 

Not all the wealth in gold wrung and delved from our fields, 
or dug from our mines, or wrought by clang of hammer, or hum 
of spool and spindle, but more than these, 

" Public health is public wealtL." 

The next address on the programme was by 

CAPT. B. E. KBBEAM, 

U. S. Signal Corps Director, Louisiana Weather Service, who 
read as follows regarding data and statistics of the climate of 
Louisiana : 
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen : 

It affords me pleasure, as a representative of the National 
Signal Service, to be able to bring the work of the service before 
this convention in a practical manner, and to prove by official 
records that the climate of Louisiana is more agreeable the year 
around, than any other section of the United States. To do this, 
a series of comparisons will be necessary, and to avoid a lengthy 
dissertation on the subject, by States, we will consider only the 
sections embraced by the extreme Northwest, the upper Missis- 
sippi and Missouri valleys, and the Pacific coast regions. 

These sections have been taken for comparison, not because 
they make Louisiana's claims stronger for the immigrant, but 
because they include a greater acreage of farming lands, and are 
considered the best in the Union. Should a doubt exist in any 
mind that a choice was made, it can readily be dispelled by a 
glance at the weather map diplayed here. 

Considering the extreme degree of heat, the normal mean max- 
imum temperature, for the hottest month, July, we find from 
signal service records that, the section of country from southern 
Illinois and southeastern Missouri to central Minnesota, has an 
average of 84P, with an average of the lowest temperature for the 
sam month of 65° ; making the average daily range of tempera- 
ture 18°. The same figures for the same month, for the section 



72 SOME LATE WORDS 

of country from southwestern Missouri to central Dakota are, 
average highest, 85°, average lowest, 63°, making the average 
daily range, 22°. For the section of country embracing northern 
Minnesota and northern Dakota, we find an average highest 
temperature of 78°, an average lowest of 55°, making an average 
daily range of 23°. For Louisiana for the same mouth, the 
average highest temperature of 99°, average lowest of 74°, ma- 
king an average daily range of 17°. 

Considering the coldest month : It is found that the first 
named section (the upper Mississippi valley), had an average 
highest temperature for January of 31°, and an average lowest of 
13°, making an average daily range of 18°. For the second sec- 
tion (the Missouri Valley) for the month of January has an aver- 
age highest temperature of 25"^, an average lowest of 3°, with 
an average daily range of temperature of 22°. The third named 
section (the extreme Northwest), has an average highest tem- 
perature for January of 9°, an average lowest of 13° below zero, 
making the average daily range of temperature 22°. Louisiana 
has, for the same mouth, an average highest tem[>erature of 
59°, an average lowest of 44°, makiug the average daily range 
for the month of 15°. 

To consider the highest and lowest temperatures recorded on 
any day, at any of the stations in the various districts : 

It is found that the maximum temperature of the Mississippi 
valley, for summer, is 103°, recorded at Des Moines, Iowa, and 
at Cairo, 111. The lowest temperature for that fectiou, in winter, 
is recorded as 43° below zero, at La Crosse, Wis., or an absolute 
range of temperature of 146°. The highest temperature on rec- 
ord, for the Missouri valley, 111°, recorded at Fort Sully, in 
Southern Dakota. The lowest temperature, for that section, is 
42° below zero, at Fort Bennett, in South Central Dakota, mak- 
ing an absolute range of temperature for the Missouri valley 
153°. The third section, the extreme Northwest, his a highest 
temperature of 107°, recorded at Fort Biiford, Dakota, and a 
lowest temperature of 59° below zero, reoorded at Pembina, 
Dakota; making the absolute range of temperature for the ex- 
treme Northwest 166°. The highest temperature on record for 
Northern Louisiana is 107°, recorded at Shreveport, and the 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 73 

liighest on record for Southern Louisiana, is 97° at New Orleans. 
The lowest tern pel ature on record for northern Louisiana is 6° 
at Shreveport, and the lowest for southern Louisiana is 20° at 
N"ew Orleans, making the absolute range of teniperatnre for the 
northern part of the State lOlo, and for the southern part 77°, 
the latter range being less than one-half of the range of either 
of the three sections quoted. 

To compare the mean relative humidity of the various sections : 
From a record covering from 1870 to 1885, the mean annual rela- 
tive humidity of the Upper Mississippi valley is computed to be 
69 per cent, the mean for the Missouri valley is 69 per cent, the 
mean for the extreme Northwest is 74 per cent, and the mean for 
Louisiana is 71 per cent, being but 2 per cent above the average 
for the two first named, and three per cent below the latter. The 
highest mean monthly, during the year, in Louisiana, is but 74 
per cent, whereas the highest in either of the other sections is 91 
per cent. 

The rainfall of the sections under consideration is as follows: 
The average annual for the Upper Mississippi valley is 39 inches ; 
the greater part of it falling during the summer months. The 
average for Louisiana is 60 inches, ranging from 4 to 6 inches for 
each month during the year. 

From the foregoing official records it is plain that there is no 
section east of the Eocky Mountains, that can compete with 
Louisiana in climate. If we have rivals, they alone exist in sec- 
tions of Oregon and California. 

The following are extracts of reports from those States: 

The State of California has an average annual temperature 
Yiv. giug from 51° to 55° on the coast, to 62° in the interior, 
against a normal temperature for Louisiana of from 65° in the 
northern portion of the State, to 6S^ in the southern portion. 
California has an avemgc raiufall of ftom 11 inches at San Diego, 
to 28 inches at Eed Bluff. An average annual relative humidity 
of from 54 to 82 per cent — San Francisco having an average of 75 
per cent, and San Diego 73 per cent, against an average for Lou- 
isiana of 71 per cent. 

The highest temperature at Los Angeles, Cal., is 108° j at Eed, 
Bluff, 110°; at Sacramento, 100°; and coast maximums ranging 



74 SOME LATE WOEDS 

from 90O to lOlo. At Davisville and Dunnigan, Oal., maximum 
temperature of II80 were recorded. 

The lowest temperatures for the State range from 16° to 33°; 
the highest minimums being reported from stations on the coast. 
The lowest temperature recorded on the Louisiana coast is 34°. 

Westerly winds prevail in California, blowing from the ocean. 
In Louisiana southerly winds prevail, blowing from the Gulf. 

In the matter of vlear, fair, and cloudy days, California has, 
doubtless, a greater amount of sunshine during the summer 
months, with almost a total lack ot rainfall. During the winter 
months, fogs are very trequent in California. The rainfall in 
Lonifiiana is evenly distributed throughout the year, with an ab- 
sence of the foggy days. 

" Climatically speaking, the therapeutic area of southern Cali- 
fornia is smalL It is limited to those localities only which are 
directly influenced by the ocean breeze, and extends but a few 
miles inland. In the valleys back from the coast the summer 
heat becomes unbearable; there is but slight vegetation, and 
good water is not easily procured. The winters are, however, 
mild and dry. Only a few inches of rain annually, and out-door 
life is practicable.'' 

Oregon claims several distinct climates within her borders : 
On the coast, the rainfall averages from 39 to 79 inches ; in 
the Willamette valley, from 41 to 67 inches ; and in the re- 
mainder of the State, from 9 to 34 inches annually. The rainy 
season begins October 15th and ends May 1st. Regarding the 
temperature, it is sufficient to state that the range in the interior 
of Oregon is from 22 below zero to 106 above. Killing frosts 
occur on an average of nine months during the year. 
I Louisiana has but one climate, and that well defined. We 
have hot weather, but we have also the cool Gulf breeze extend- 
ing inland, reaching the extreme northern portion of the State, 
which has, however, a higher temperature than that recorded in 
the southern portion during the summer. The rainfall and 
moisture in the atmosphere are nearly the same, being slightly 
less north than south. The summers are long, but necessarily 
so for the crops that are grown. 

Louisiana's comparative immunity from killing frosts is 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 75 

graphically portrayed on the small chart on the lower comer of 
the Weather Map. It will be seen that the extreme northern 
part of this State has the advantage of Northern Florida in this 
particular, and that the southern part of Louisiana, from Avoy- 
elles parish to the Gulf, has no rival, save the southern portion 
of Florida Peninsula. This is explainable by the fact that the 
majority of the cold waves that sweep southward over the coun 
try during the winter season, are deflected east of Louisiana, 
and for the following reasons: The atmosphere moves in huge 
waves, similar to water. The cold wave is the base of the crest 
of this wave, and the hollow between the crests is the storm 
center. A storm ofi" the Texas coast, and a cold wave forming 
in the northwest, are conditions suitable for a great fall in tem- 
perature between those regions ; since the air resting on the sur- 
face of the earth moves out from under a high pressure, flowing 
in the direction of low pressure, which in this case would mean 
cold, northerly winds flowing from the northwest of Texas. But 
since all the movements of the atmosphere have an eastward 
tendency, the storm that was in the Gulf yesterday, will be found 
hundreds of miles to the eastward to day, and the cold wave 
sweeping down from the northwest has had its attractions re- 
moved, and the cold surface winds are now from the northwest. 
Another cause of the immunity we have from these cold waves is 
that, there is a wall of warm, moist air overhanging the Gulf, ex- 
tending over the interior of the State, and the intermingling of 
the mass of cold air from the north with this warm air, is seldom 
before both masses have passed eastward out of range of the 
State. 

Another cause is that, storms having their origin on the east- 
ern Rocky Mountain slope, have for an attraction the great lakes; 
since all storms will move toward a humid atmosphere and to 
where they have a clear sweep; thus accounting for the groat 
number of our cyclones moving out of the St. Lawrence valley. 

It must not be understood from the foregoing, that Louisiana 
has no cold- waves, for during the past winter (my first in tlie 
South), the temperature in this city fell to 29° above zero ; but 
while we escaped with that temperature, caused by a high pres- 
sure of air that swept down below a storm having its origin in 



76 SO:\IB LATE WORDS 

Indiana, Florida on the same latitude, had a temperature lower 
than that recorded here. (G-reat applause.) 

Note : The data from which the foregoing has been compiled are from 
signal service records covering the period from November 1, 1870, to Jan- 
uary 1, 1886, and do not include the cold-wave of January, 1886, when min- 
imum temjieratures of from 5 to 10 degrees below any previous record were 
reported jErom the majority of Southern and Eastern States. 

The climate in the vicinity of New Orleans has received most 
elaborate treatment at the hands of Col. M. B. Hillyard, of that 
city. With pen and speech, he has been quite awhile agitating 
the topic, particularly in connection with the i^oint of showing 
the desirabilty of that city as a winter resort, and contrasting 
its attractions with other noted Southern cities in that regard. 
In that behalf, he made an address before the Chamber of Com- 
merce of Denver, Colorado, last June (1888), at the request of the 
Chamber of Commerce of New Orleans, on the occasion of an 
excursion of the latter body to Denver, as the guests of the 
former body. Still more elaborately, he promulgated his views 
later on; and, by an immense array of statistics, fortified im- 
pregnably the grounds he took in behalf of climate. He kindly 
furnishes the following matter, and embraces in it entirely new 
reflections, the result of his own research, and not to befound in 
the books : 

New Orleans, La., March 1, 1889. 

Hon. T. W. Poole, Commissioner of Immigration of Louisiana, New Orleans, La.: 

My Dear Sir — With much pleasure I furnish you something on the climate 
of Louisiana. When I first promulgated my views of the climate of this city, 
from the standpoint of statistics, to a group of influential friends of the Cham- 
ber of Commerce of New Orleans, there was genuine surprise, and considerable 
questiouiug ; but the ever-obliging and most efficient United States Signal 
Corps Director of the Louisiana Weather Service, Capt. R. E. Kerkam, fur- 
nished a graphic map, at the request of the then secretary of the Chamber of 
Commerce of New Orleans, the broad-minded aud most energetic, Rev. D. L. 
Mitchell, Would that this map were printed! At a glance, one comprehends 
its most striking aud almost unknown truths; until later agitation has 
engraven them deeply into pul)lic apprehension. 

It was deemed so great a revelation by the Chamber of Commerce of this 
city, that I was deputed by its energetic president, Hon. H. Dudley Coleman, 
to deliver an address on the topic Ibefore the Chamber of Commerce of Den- 
ver, Col.; whicli call I gladly obeyed last June. Since then, my investiga- 
tions have taken wider scope, aud still more startling statistics have been 
compiled by me. This letter affords only scoi)e for nothing but a most 
meagre abbreviation of my subject-matter; but I send yon something. 

The investigations into Louisiana at large are a matter of recent research, 
and are not olitainable in books. The data are scattered, and have cost 
rather tedious ilclviug to uncover. I beg, here, to publicly express my obli- 
gations to Cai)t. Kerkham for his courteous facilitation of my labors. 

Before, however, the resort is made to dry statistics, it ought to be said 
that statistics do not convey (very often), adequate impressions. Men's feel- 



ABOUT LOUISIAl^A. 77 

ings frequently controvert tlie expectations of facts. For iiliistratiou : People 
will complain at the coldness of a temijcrature at Jacksonville, St. Augustine 
(Florida); Mobile, Alabama ; New Orleans, Louisiana, and elsewhere South, 
near water, when the thermometer says it is not cold. But there is an ele- 
ment called, very happily, "rawness" of atmosphere, that sometimes disap- 
points bitterly the glorious forecasts of imagination. Then, too, the worst 
and only occasional aspects of temperature or weather, become to their pre- 
judiced and embittered judgments, the criteria of climate. Coming to New Or- 
leans (maybe), and finding, in a sojourn of six months, a possible aggregate of 
this "nawsty" weather of two or three weeks, they disregard and ignore 
stretches of weather of balmiest airs and lovelj'^ skies, and almost perpetual 
bloom of even delicate flowers. Such is human nature, and it is useless to 
quarrel at it. 

Then, too, soil makes a semi-fallacy of temperature, and drainage, like- 
wise. Take two soils, one stiif, impervious; the other sandy and perme- 
able. Given the same temperature, the same quality of atmo-sphere, the same 
motion of wind : And the sandy soil will leave upon the mind and feelings 
better impressions. And, if the same ilat, impermeable soil, in one case, be 
covered with water, and in the other not, the feelings and air will be differ- 
ent. If any one doubts this, let him live in the well-drained jiarts of this 
city, and then, try, for a short time, a residence in the illy-drained. 

Then, too, there come in certain occult influences and impressions, the 
effects of which are imponderable, where discomforts, annoyances and disgust 
discolor the eye and becloud the judgment, and so utterly confuse and con- 
found the apprehension, that remediable incidents, and conditions that cry 
loudly for redress, and are reflections upon public apathy, indicia of civic 
povert}^, and unfeeling concern, and a due appreciation of the needs of sani- 
tation ; these, we say, are fallaciously attributed, by the afflicted and dis- 
gruntled victim of them, to climate; when climate has no proper connection 
with them. I treat the topic somewhat large, because, just now, there is a 
pervasive (and I hope it will eventuate in an effective), agitation on the 
subject of drainage of this city. This effectually done (and it is a matter of 
easy feasibility), and our city ^s ill show a marked increase in health, in the 
comfort of its inhabitants, and in the dryness of its atmosphere. By lowering 
water-surface, by relieving the soil of much Avater that its tough texture 
holds in its clammy grasp, the suu can get a chance to warm the soil and 
radiate its heat, and constitute a blander atmosphere, and make a better 
showing in the annals of climate. When this drainage shall have been done, 
New Orleans will show an almost peerless climate ; as it has, now, one of the 
loveliest, in many aspects, in the world. 

But, to return to general considerations of how misleading, to the feelings, 
often are mere thermometrical and hygrometrical data. Climate has certain 
features that are above and beyond all those. To illustate : Take the calm, 
still, cold of p.arts of New England, and even some States further West. Put 
the thermometer at 20^ below zero, Fahrenheit. Now, take a "blizzard" 
Western State. Given an identical degree of cold ; but given a velocity of 
wind of fifty or even forty miles an hour. In the latter condition, man and 
beast will suffer greatly. In the former, one may walk or ride in the keen, 
still air, and, properly protected, may not suffer. It is insidious, though ; for 
one, not knowing its treacherous , stilleto-like character, may have members 
of the body frozen, or even freeze to death, and not be conscious of it. This 
movement of air is a most vital consideration, in all attempts at estimating 
climate. And yet it receives, from the average man. either no consideration, 
or none but the most superficial. Generalities count for little ; and I must 
illustrate, to be at all impressive. One of the bitterest days of suffering I 
ever experienced was in Northern Kansas. I had often wished to see a 
blizzard. I took a drive some ten miles across the country, with a driver as 
guide. The day was a bright and beautiful one in late September — if my 
memory be not at fault. The air was so delightful, that my driver did not 
take his overcoat. Soon a faint, thin haze appeared. It thickened. Now 
and then spattering rain drops came. The wind arose. It strengthened. 
Soon it blew strong and unremittingly. It was in my face. My solace waa 



78 SOME LATE WOEDS 

that, on my return, it weuld be behind me ; and I should he comfortahle with 
the protection of the "buggy"-back. I paid my visit quickly. Started back. 
The wind increased, and blew with remorseless steadiness and violence. I 
had overcoat and shawl. All were in use. Still I could not keep warm. In 
holding my hat on my head, my hand was numb iu two minutes. The driver 
got out to keep from freezing, and never entered the carriage again ; running 
for milesl The horse had hard work to pull me in a slow trot, so hard did 
the wind blow against the vehicle ; for it seemed to front me at all turns. 
The rainfall iras insignificant ; only spattering drops through the swirling 
mist ; stinging like spent shot from a gun. I got to my hotel at last, nearly 
frozen : and toat night it was not nearly cold enough for a fire. I have never 
wished to be in a winter blizzard since ! 

Once I wa» in New York, in Dutchess county, twenty miles east of the 
Hndson. It was late December. On a bright, cloudless day, about 8 a. m., 
I took a short walk. (It had not been cold the day before). I found, to my 
surprise, several inches of ice on a lake that was entirely open the preceding 
day. It was so still, that the dead leaf never rustled in the tree. I was so 
deceived, that my overcoat (as I think), was not worn. Upon my return to 
the house, I looked at the thermometer, and it registered six (6) degrees be- 
low zero — Fahrenheit, It was so still (no wind), that I was grossly de- 
ceived ; not living in New York. But my nose and ears made a narrow escape 
from freezing. I should have been far more conscious of cold in Central 
Delaware (where I then lived), with the thermometer fifteen (15) degrees 
above eera — Fahrenheit. 

Take another illustration of wind in "Western Texas — the "Norther." 
There the utmost 8ufl:ering may come to man, and often death to brutes, with 
a snddeness that almost passes belief: and yet often it is not cold enough to 
make ice. And even in summer there are, sometimes, these winds there. 

And this leads me to just say, that tudden changes are features of climate 
that ought to receive due consideration, especially when the changes are tcide ex- 
tremet. ■ And the reader is begged to weigh duly the showing Capt. Kerkam 
makes, in the premises, in favor of New Orleans. There may be a sudden 
change here from 60° or 70° Fahrenheit, in winter, to 20° to 30°, in twelve to 
twenty-four hours. One knows it and feel* it ; and the visitor who is looking 
for perpetual Paradise here will carp at it; but it is something horrible, 
where he comes from, when the weather changes from fifry above zero to 
twenty below, in the same time. 

And it is important to impress the reader that these high winds and sudden 
changes are what rack the constitution. In any of these cold, windy States, 
one will find catarrh fearfully prevalent, and its almost congeners and cammon 
sequels, pulmonary consumption and chronic brouchitis. 

Now, for summer winds. The discomforts of these at the West (particu- 
larly), to the physical existence of man, is only one feature. In some of the 
States there, they not only raise, very frequently, great swirling clouds of 
dust ; impairing eyeeight, filling the lungs, rendering untidy wearing ap- 
parel, begriming face and hands ; but, have serious, and often, fatal effects 
upon agriculture. Its sirocco-like heat impairs vegetables and field-crops, 
and often hopelessly blights and withers them. The extreme dryness of these 
winds, finds an added element of detriment or destruction in their velocity. 
Every one knows the drying effect of high winds ; and this, blended with 
the capacity of their absorption of moisture, soon leave the ground robbed of 
moisture needed for plant and vegetable life, even after heavy rainfall or 
irrigation . I have known, in Colorado, fields, where were growing crops, that 
were profasely irrigated one day, to need the same treatment, as badly, the 
next. The thirsty air and the greedy wind had plimdered soil and crop of 
their sustenance and moisture . 

In part* of Kansas, hay mtist often be stacked at night, on account of high 
windJs. And the high, hot winds dry up the streams, too, in many places 
West, entailing suffering and death to live stock. And, because the air ab- 
sorbs the moisture so, the rainfall has not the chance to permeate the soil ; 
and water, for family use in pumps and wells, is greatly reduced in quantity, 
and, in ftunuoex, inmaay places West, water is often a commodity, selling at 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 79 

flo mnch per barrel or bucket. Frequently, farmers have to drive for miles, 
and haul muddy water from holea in streama, whose beds are, elsewhere, 
dry. And it is a common thing, at farm houses, to see some such notice as 
this: '"No water given away, laut for drinking purposes." In fact, it would 
be almost impossible to enumerate all the drawbacks of an area of scanty 
rainfall, aggravated by prevalent high winds. It takes the bloom from the 
cheek of beauty, and blights that of the rose. It blasts the fairest fields. 
It brings death to the beasts of burden, and numberless discomforts to man. 
In some parts, it literally blows crops away, denuding them of soil; until, 
finally, the crops, wheat, oats, and rye are removed, and piled in dried 
masses far from the localities where they were sown. And in the places 
where the high, hot winds prevail, and the scant rainfall (and these seem in- 
separable), the terrible blizzard dominates in winter, and the awful cyclone 
revels in summer. 

Louisiana has blessings of climate that no panegyric can adequately por- 
tray. Her rainfall is more profuse than that of almost any State in the Union 
(or Territory, for that matter). It is well distributed throughout the year. 
Inestimable is the strange happiness of the fact that, it is greater in summer 
than other times; for that is the season for crop-making— just when it is needed 
most. Then, the dews play a great part, too ; and are a great preventive 
against crops suffering for want of water. Every one knows how scant are 
the dews West, or else how totally wanting. And, in connection with rain- 
fall, there is a nice point to be made, in that a very large quantity of ammonia 
always existing in the earlier stages of rainfall, and the rainfall of Louisiana 
being profuse, her soil secures a vast quantum of fertility from the sky, as it 
were . *» 

In this fact lies the solution (in my opinion), of the problem to so many 
agriculturists. In parts of the State, they find lands bringing immense crops 
of grass. The Western farmer, reasoning from his home-experiences, assumes 
that the soil will bring corresponding crops of com, oats, etc . , tut finds him- 
self disappointed, and experiences small crops, without fertilization. The 
explanation is that, the grass grows so, and yields such crops, because of the 
large quantity of ammonia in the rainfall, and because the sun does not evapo- 
ate it, because the ammonia is absorbed quickly. The rainfall is a liquid 
manure; and the grass, shading the soU, prevents the sun from evaporating the 
ammonia. 

As Louisiana cannot have dry winds (except almost phenomenally), so she 
has not high ones, so far as moisture-absorption or removal of moisture is 
concerned . Her high winds are storm winds, and almost necessarily involve 
precipitation — generally marked by heavy rainfall. 

But, while Louisiana's is not a windy climate, it is a breezy one . The airs 
from the Gulf of Mexico are pre-eminently bland, cooling, and softly exhilar- 
ating . Particularly are they in their strongest effects, soothing to shattered 
nerves; and the experiences of the Western immigrants, m Southwest 
Louisiana, give most incontestible proofs that Louisiana's climate is most 
beneficial to catarrh and rheumatism. An explanation of their effects is most 
easy, as to catarrh . The atmosphere is heavtly charged with salineness, and 
the air inhaled reaches the seats of disease, in perpetual medication and 
insensible administration, beyond the reach and aimoyances of man's appli- 
cations; which are often nauseating and expensive. Every one knows that it 
is a common ail'air to snuff salt-water up the nostrils for catarrh and other 
diseases of the head ; and the atmosphere of the Gulf of Mexico has none of 
the intermittency, pungency and partliness of that remedy, and has all its 
beneficial effects. 

The beneficial results as to rheumatism are not so directly explicable by me. 
I presume that, ozone from the sea, in its invigorating and tonic efl'ects ; that 
exercise, open air, with their system-building opportunities, through better 
appetite and digestion, exercise an influence quite imponderable. Then, 
exemption from high winds, and the rigors of winter, play a very important 
part in the good work. Every one with a frail constituion knows what 
dreadful havoc excessive cold plays with the nerves, and creates or aggra- 
vates neuralgia. I am quite certain that ezceasiy* cold la a very material 



80 SOME LATE WORDS 

factor in rheumatism ; and, while I am williufj to, most readily, admit that, 
for persons not subject to the rigors of winter, the greater dampness is not 
so favorable to rheumatism as a dryer air and a greater altitude, yet, taking 
all in all, the climate near the Gulf of Mexico is far better for rheumatism 
than life, in much, if not most, of the West. Experience is the last analysis 
of tests; and be the explanation what it may, the triumphant fact voices a 
pean, to Louisiana's climate, of scores of literally rejuvenated Western people, 
who were distorted and racked by the pangs of rheumatism in their old 
homes at the West. The proof, on that score, is decisive, and the matter is 
aloof from the domain of conjecture. 

And while I wish to touch the topic with due delicacy of assertion, it 
would be an outrage on the climaf e, and a wrong to fact, not to state that 
most of our climate is highly beneficial (if not curative of), chronic bronchitis 
and pulmonary consumption, in cases where parties have lived in a more 
rigorous climate. I do not think one need go far to get at facts of deepest 
import in explanation of those results. A person goes from a temperature 
of 100° or more degrees, Farenheit, in his house, into a temperature of from 
zero to 20° or more degrees below . Is there any trouble in knowing what 
that cold air does with delicate throat and lungs ? And breathe, one must. 
One is confined in a highly -heated, poisoned atmosphere, by breathing, again 
and again, the same air, because the excessive coldness of the outside air 
prevents proper ventilation. In order to resist the rigors of cold, with bodily 
vitality, food, strong in carbon-making quality, is needed. That demands 
good digestion ; and exercise and piire air are great factors thereof. But, 
the open air is an open door to the citadel and seat of disease (the tender 
lungs and throat), of their worst enemy, zero, and twenty below. So in- 
doors and out, is danger or death. Here, in Louisiana, zero is never touched 
by the hand of the icy king. Open air and exercise are always possible. 
Fire-places dispense their healthful warmth and enheartening and pictur- 
esque glow. • Food high in carbon-making is not needed, or if eaten, exercise 
and pure air can promote its digestion . No stealthy assassins of lungs and 
throat, stab these with their keen stilettos, in the guise of zero and his 
myrmidons from his lower realm. 

And, if the sufferer from these last two complaints, selects some spot in the 
pinewoods, where the air is dryer, he finds additional advantages in altitude, 
and the balsamic airs medicated by the odorous pine— securing healing or 
soothing from them, with the ozone of the sea combined with the soft, and 
almost ethereal mildness of the Gulf breezes. No one can describe properly 
a vrinter's day in the pinewoods of Louisiana, when that day is at its best ; 
when, far away in the ethery depths, the sky, without Heck or film, seems to 
look down in a grandeur of lover-like benignity uj)ou the enraptured earth ; 
when the spell that defies explanation, draws from the dear and inexhaustible 
repertory of nature so many bewitching elements. 

The pine sighs its soul in sadly-sweet monotone, in such enchanting dim- 
inuendoes and crescendoes, that it seems to play a delicious motette : like a 
wonderful musician a melody on one string of charmed instrument. The 
mockingbird, in many a winding bout of " delicious lay," in 

" The sweet music of his open month." 
" And linked sweetness long drawn out," 
" Fi'oiu the .snjiared nest of Ms delicicnis soul," 
Lets liy " a shoal of fuU fledg'd notes " 

that sparkle in crystalline delight, and float, and run, and soar, until they 
greet the azure welkin, and seem to challenge a seraph for a music-duel. 
Underfoot, the flowers, 

" With rich inlay, broider the gi'ound. 
And make mosaic." 

Near by, in some embowered cottage, with garden full of jonquils, hya- 
cynths, narcissus, etc., 

" The rose rears high her flourish'd head." 

On the bosom of some stately magnolia, the yellow jessamine has woven 
its graceful wildneas of golden embroidery. Enough of these. But, bring 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 81 

this easy possibility to pass. Put more features in the picture, of other 
flowers, and multifarious odors, more mockingbirds, and breezes soft as when 

"Zephyius on Flora breathes;" 
and you have only a few traits of a winters day, in thousands of Louisiana 
homes. 

Now bring your consumptive from hot rooms and foul airs, from piercing 
cold and howling winds ; where even " the rathe primrose '' has not yet put 
in an appearance, and Avhere the flowers have not yet 

" Awak'd from the dreams of their wintery rest." 

Place your invalid in the setting I have made ; and see if he will not be a 
ditt'erent picture, in heart and health, than in the frame of ice where he shud- 
dered, and shivered, and pined, and faded, in his Western prison ; the fore- 
runner of tomb, had he remained at home. Surely, one may say, with 
utterly changed import, and with the irony of cold fact, of such a home : 
" There's no place like home!" 

But I want to tell of a most material aspect of our breezes, the latter 
almost always prevailing all day and night (dying down to almost stillness 
at nightfall, fo: a short time, then ceasing in the early morning, and coming 
on soon after), that they are one great explanation of our health. They 
dissipate, before them, "the lazy elements that else would stagnate into pes- 
tilence." The almost perpetual movement of the air scatters miasma, and 
prevents festering and seething gases from their deadly or deleterious efl'ects 
in climates less Avinuowed by breeze. The sea-born airs 

" Their gelid wings expand, 
And winnow fragrance o'er a smiling land." 

Any one not conversant with the antidotal quality of saline air, in Louisi- 
ana, Avill look, in perfect amazement, at the fens and holes in Louisiana, 
Avhere scum, and fllth, and stagnation are seen on or around pools and ponds 
near the homes where indifterent people reside, and wonder at the health of 
the inhabitants. But, the pervading and prevailing breezes are the explana- 
tion. And then the saliness of the breezes make them strongly antiseptic, 
and destroys microbes and bacteria, may be. So pure is our air, nearer the 
coast, that people cut their beef — "jerk it," to use the provincialism, — and 
linng it on the fences to dry; which it does without putrefaction. And I 
ha,ve seen venison, even some distance from the coast, keep sweet and un- 
tainted for two days (how much longer it would htive kept I don't know ; for 
it was then eaten), hung out in the open air, with the temperature away up in 
the seventies . One might think flies would soon infest it . Not so . The re- 
markable paucity of many species of flies, in many localities, and the little 
annoyance flies are generally to live stock, in many quarters, is one of the 
paradoxes of our country . But, I must not be inveigled from my main topic, 
by tliat most strange and import 'iit fact. 

Our nights, in summer, are almost always cool, and sleep-inviting. Rightly 
placed, a man might almost spend a long life-time in almost any part of this 
State, and never once lose a night's sleep on account of excessive heat. By 
being " rightly placed," I mean having a sleeping apartment that enjoys the 
coolness that nature affords. If he gets in some room, in a large hotel, in a 
city, or elsewhere, that has been heated in the day of a midsummer's heat, 
and that has not been cooled, or cannot be cooled by the delicious breezes 
playing elsewhere, and that have lowered the temperature to a delightful 
degree, then he will welter (as he will North and West), in heat and sleep- 
lessness much, if not all, the night. But, that is not climate, but location. 

Our sutt'eriug here is (in summer), out of the hreeze. Shxit your windows, 
get out of the breeze, let the breeze cease, and one suffers . One noticas it, 
particularly, when the sky becomes clouded, and the breeze lays; generally, a 
condition of things closely or immediately preceding a rain or thunder-storm. 
That is our most trying type of heat, I think. It is sultry. The clouds act 
as a roof, to prevent radiation ; the cooling effects of the breezes cease ; and, 
to one not used to it, it is apt to be trying for awhile. Then, too, the moisture 
surcharging the air, prevents absorbtion of the perspiration, and makes one 



82 SOME LATE WOEDS 

sweat profusely ; while a dry heat would absorb insensible perspiration, and 
measurably relieve. But, the sultriness and stillness are not the weather of 
Louisiana's climate. They are hardly features, rather expressions, of our 
weather. Her face is sunshine, and her breath is vocal. Her shades are 
always delicious, cooling, soothing, grateful, satisfying, when nature is in her 
normal mood. One may suflfer in the sun ; but the shade never disappoints, 
in the prevalent conditions. I don't know but the best way to put it is to 
say that the sun is hot, but the air cool. Out \Ve8t, as I have ridden over 
their great prairies, in a carriage, exposed to the sun's rays (and they are 
fiercer than ours), I have said: " Well, I'll soon be in the shade, and then 
I'll be comfortable." Alas! I was disappointed. The air is hot, as well as 
theswn. Western people are constantly wondering at Southern men com- 
plaining at the heat North and West, in many places ; and deem it an idiosyn- 
cracy or affectation ; but a man from the saline atmospheres (particularly), 
of much of the South, will always suffer in the summer-heat of much of the 
West, and will find intense comfort in getting back to the delicious coolness 
of Southern shades. I have spent enough summers in New Orleans, to know 
its climate and weather. Then, I have spent summers near the Catskills, in 
New York ; at Saratoga Springs, New York ; Cape May, New Jersey ; some 
time at Newport, Khode Island ; in various points West and North, even to 
Lake Superior ; and, given a cool room here, so far as delicious sleeping and 
lovely, cooling breezes are concerned, I give my preference to New Orleans. 

It used to be the fashion for onr people to go North or West every summer. 
Much of it was an affectation of fashion, and a whim of travel . Now, they 
are building summer cottages on the coast, between here and Mobile, and 
will soon be doing the same at the grand surf of our coast further West : 
Grand Isle and elsewhere. 

This matter ot breeziness has a very material connection with the question 
of labor in the field, in the walks of agriculture and horticulture . I have 
said that the breeze dies down after prevailing through the night, begins 
again from 6a.m. to 10 a.m. (rarely so late as the latter hour), blows until 
about sunset, ceases from one to three hours, and then blows until early 
morning: (that is the summer habit) . From this, one can see that the working 
hours are the breezy ones in the day ; and that night offers the soft lure of 
" nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep," to the weary worker of the day. It 
is a beautiful economy of nature, and looks like a partiality of Providence. 
How the hot nights of some climates " murder sleep ;" and the man who has 
" borne the heat and burden of the diiy," and is worn out with work and 
lassitude, lies down in vain attempt to recuperate for the labors of the mor- 
row by sleep ; or if 

" Hushed by buzzing nicht-fiica to his slumber, 
It is a ' short and distiubed repose," ' 

full of tossings and feverish snatches of sweltering unrest. 

And then, the native of other climes — England and parts of Italy, — will not 
fail to remember the still air of summer days. The poets tell us of them. 
Thus Milton : 

"His look 
Drew audience and attention still as night 
Or summer's noon-tide air." 

Shelley writes: 

" When noon lays heavy on land and tree." 
Later, Tennyson: 

" The all- weary noons." 

There has been written much nonsense about Northern men not being able 
to stand field labor in the South. The pen and tongue of slander, in this 
regard, have not ceased, even now. And, considerable honest misapprehen- 
sion still exists in the minds of Northern and Western men . It is worth a 
few words here, to do our share to dispel it. About fifteen years ago, I had a 
long interchange of vi«ws with Sir John Crossly, M. P., of England. He 
was, at that time, president of the Mississippi Valley Society, of which the 
Bonorable Jefferson Davis, the illustrious and revered President of the 



ABOUT LOCJISIANA. 83 

Sonthem Confederacy, was the leading American representative and official. 
This society had, for its aim, the development of the Mississippi Valley 
(mainly), through the intervention or introduction of English capital, enter- 
prise and immigration. Sir John told me that, a pressing need was to 
remove, firom the English mind, the opinion engraven iipon it by a century of 
cogent, vehement, reiteration upon the part of the South (as the fundamental 
defense of and apology for African slavery), that the white man could not 
stand field labor there, and that negro slavery was a necessity of her agricul- 
ture. He said that that belief was wide spread, by reason of its sincere, 
long, and unchallenged asservation. Immediately, I set to work, issuing a 
circular-letter, directed to Europeans and Northern white men who had come 
South, and had tried field labor long enough to test the matter, as to the truth 
or falsity of the statement . This circular-letter I sent, a copy each, to every 
paper, in two or more Southern States, especially Mississippi and Louisiana. 
Papers in other Southern States copied the letter. I was overwhelmed with 
replies , and the testimony covered, I presume, the experiences of thousands ; 
for, one letter represented several hundred Swedes who had located in Mis- 
sissippi. The gist of the replies was, to utterly refute the fallacy. Numerous 
letters not only spoke of standing field labor South as well as in their old 
homes North and West, but of even standing it better ; and, in addition, 
spoke of improved health . More than this : I remember one or more in- 
stances, where white men endured labor on railroad work (track-repairing, 
etc.), better tl in negroes — the estimable Captain John J. Conway, of the 
Illinois Central iiailroad (Southern branch), giving me much illustration in 
the last regard. And the convention of Northern men, who have lived in 
Louisiana, held in New Orleans last August — 1888 — to assert the proof of 
fifteen years' ago,, was a reaffirmation and echo thereof; the only difference 
being that my investigations took a far wider range, and embraced, not only 
Louisiana, but several other Southern States. So, I hope to hear soon, no 
more of this utterly false assertion. 

It is quite sure that now and then (semi-occasionally), the climate does not 
agree with one from the North or West, at that place where he has located. 
But somewhere else in the State might. And even if no place siiits, it is only 
what is happening in thousands of instances elsewhere. Many people are 
not well anywhe7-e. And, then, it is certainly true that, some people come 
South with the most absurd expectations. They come, maybe, from a 
country where drought has ruined them, or frequently blights theif old 
homes. And then, when the rainfall is one of the richest bounties of Provi- 
dence to Louisiana, and it must make mud sometimes, and indoors a neces- 
sity, they complain at mud and rain. They come from the blizzard-infested 
belt, where they go to and from the stable by " safety lines" from the house; 
where they are absolutely besieged by storm for days ; where man and beast 
often freeze to death ; or die from starvation, because they can't be reached 
with food ; where the thermometer stays below zero for weeks ; where they 
sometimes have to burn fences, and even parts of their residences and barns 
for fuel, to save them from freezing ; and they will come South, and if the 
thermometer be 15° or 20° Fahrenheit, they will say they sufl'er from cold 
here more than when at home. Well, they may suffer more South, at that 
temperature, than at home, with the same temperature ; but they don't suffer 
half, nay, even a tenth, as much from that temperature South, as they do at 
zero and below, at home. The fallacy consists in not comparing oui worst 
weather with theirs. »And, let it be remembered that, if our air be a little 
raw and more uncomfortable than his at home, when the thermometer marks 
the same degree of cold in both instances, let them remember that it is only 
uncomfortable, not dangerous, deadly or expensive, and has not, as its inci- 
dents, the fearful catalogue we have mentioned as characteristics of his 
winter in the West. Let it be understood, too, that our disagreeable, mean 
weather is of short duration (only a "cold snap"), while he is liable to 
months at home, and, in fierce continuity, too . But, when one finds a man 
who comes South, from the West, and innocently tells you that he thought 
overcoats were never needed here in winter (as is the case sometimes), or 
when he walks out or rides, in out roughest weather, without that garment, 



84 SOME LATE WORDS 

and in snch cases complains, and is surprised at feeling cold, can any wonder 
at such an one telling you, in inane sincerity, that it is as cold here, or colder 
than at the winter-ridden and blizzard-harried West? Don't he kliow 
better ? Why, the very roses blush for him, as if in shame at his hardened 
cheek or shallow brain, and breathe refutation myriads of other tiowers with 
their odors. The radishes, lettuce, garden "sass," and other A'egetables rise 
to confound him . All nature, animate and inanimate, seems to reply; even 
the birds, in melodious contradiction, and the young chickens in the barn- 
yard, and the bees a-\\dng, the strawberries ripening or eaten at his host's 
table . 

In summer, he will talk of heat, and will tell you that 96° Fahrenheit here, 
is more punitive and trying than 103° or 105°, in his Western home. That 
may be. But let it be understood that we don't have that heat regularly in 
Louisiana. Let it deeply impress the carper too, that if our temperature be 
more sultry, that betokens great advantages. It means almost total immunity 
from siuistroke, so common North and West, that plays sucli sad havoc with 
man and beast. The sun's rays are measurably quenched and cooled, in the 
moisture of the atmosphere. Let him remember too, that our sultriness 
means rainfall ; and that means croji-makiug, exemption from ruinous 
droughts, prosperity to agriculture. Let him remember that it means cool- 
ness in the shade, delightful slumbers at night, noble forests, perennial 
streams, perpetual fruits and flowers. Let him remember tliat, on tliis earth 
incompatible advantages are not to be had : One cannot have united the best 
aspects of a dry climate, and those where there is a more humid one. 

If the caviller retorts that the extreme heat of his climate is of shorter 
duration, and is relieved by intervals of great change; granted. But are 
regularity, evenness of climate nothing ? Is it a desideratum, to-day to welter 
in the heat of 103°, and to-morrow have to wear overcoats, and drive with 
buffalo robes ? In New Orleans (and most of Louisiana), one can put on a 
linen garb in May, and wear it daily, almost or quite, to mid-October. Many 
places North and West, it is linen to-day, and thick, woolen clothing to- 
morrow. Sometimes, it is both the same day. In fact, peoj^le from the 
North and West experience needless suffering from our heat, because they 
persist in wearing the same heavy clothing here that prudence dictates and 
safety demands at home. They fear to attire themselves as we of the State 
do, lest, forsooth, they should catch " cold !" They avoid draughts of air, to 
sleep or sit in the night air, when our people do it with almost total im- 
punity. It is amiisiug to ride on the cms, ;iud see these timorous peojile pull 
down the windows, pile on the M'raps, and swelter ; and then complain of 
heat ! And I have known them to go in rooms to sleep, already hot, put down 
the windows, use heaps of bed-clothing, for dread of the night air ; and then 
say they can't stand our climate — next morning jaded and worn out by the 
sweat-bath of the night. Next door, some ISensible man had the wind bowl- 
ing over him in great waves of balmy coolness ; and in the morning is cheery 
with his deep and restful slumbers of the past night. But, these half-hypo- 
chondriacs tire only using the needed precautions of home. They know how 
insidious and hurtful is the night air there. They know that they dare not 
sit or sleep in a " draught," lest they should take cold. And, they bring their 
habits and precautious here, with added apprehensions of Southern air ; as 
though the soft and kindly lireezes were devils in disguise, armed with chills, 
fevers, colds, etc. Let them throw such foolery to^the winds! And, if our 
reply to cavils will not satisfy that one who is so unpersuadable, then let him 
weigh the great, unanswerable argument that, he certainly must confess the 
discomforts, diseases, deatlis, expenses incidental to his long winters, are 
far worse than the real or fancied discomforts of our long summers. 

Our rain, in summer, is seldom in the night, from May to December. In 
winter, it is heavier at night than day time. Explanations easy, but I pass 
on. 

If there be enquiry at or wonder how we have so much precipitation or 
rainfall, and so much sunshiue. the answer is ths.t, — hcu it rains, it often 



ABOUT LOUISIANA, 



85 



" pours." Sometimes, seven inches of rainfall occur in a fe^y lionrs. Four or 
five inches per day are not infreqvieut. The sky seldom scowls in empty 
threats. There are few of those long-delayed promises of rain, that frequently 
delude and disappoint the agriculturist North and West. The sky is over- 
cast, the rain falls heavily, and the heavens are soon bright, with the breezes 
piping. We have none, or next to none, of those hot, close, steaming, mists 
or vapors, that curtain the air in landscape-clouding, suffocating stillness, 
and that often produce rust in wheat so soon. 

I have thus given some views Qf climate, of which climatological statistics 
give little, or no apprehension to the average man. " Mean annual temjjera- 
ture," "moiiThly maximums and miuimums," "dew point," "relative 
humidity," and the vocabulary of signal-service reports, mean little to him. 
The climatoldgist, men of science, deduce from the dry facts of those, much 
that I have said. But the average man desires, needs to have, the outcome 
of them, and what they mean, portrayed. That I have attempted. 

But we know how the other class would complain (and justly), if we did 
not give the highest data ; so, we furnish tabulations, particularizing some- 
what, where Capt. Kerkam has generalized in broad deductions. By this 
treatment, we aim to satisfy all, and satisfy the more curious enquiry of tho 
scientist or critic. 



The following table is from the report of the Chief Signal Officer, War De- 
partment ; appendix 10 ; page 82 et tseq, for 1885 ; part first : 

Mean temperature (in decrees Fahrenheit) at stations of the Sif/nal Service, United 
States Army, for each month and the year. {Computed front Xorember, 1879, 
to December, 1884, both inclufiire, except at stations opened subsequent to the 
former date.) 

[The daily means are obtained by dividing the sum of the 7 a. m., 3 and 11 p. m. ("Wasliing- 
ton time) observations by 3 ; the monthly, by dividing the sum of the daily by the num- 
ber of days in the month.] 





>j 


i 




- 










s 

.5 




3 


i 




Stations. 


0! 

s 

>-5 


s 
^ 

s 


o 

3 


1 


^ 
3 


0) 

a 
p 




5o 


s 


1 







a 
? 



1 

t— ( 


"3 
<1 


New England : 


O 


o 


"T" 


o 


o 


o 


o 


~V 

















Eaatport, Me 

Portland, Me 


19.8 


23.2 


27.9 


37.8 


47.1 


.56.2 


60.5 


61.1 


.56.5 


40.7 


36.1 


25.7 


41.6 


24.6 


28.7 


34.0 


44.7 


55.1 


65.0 


69.6 


68.6 


62.3 


51.0 


39.6 


30.1 


47.8 


Mount Washington, N. H 


6.1 


8.8 


9.6 


20.1 


34.2 


44.3 


46.7 


47.2 


42.6 


30.2 


17.2 


11.3 


26.5 


Boston. Ma.ss 


26.4 


.30.1 


J3.9 


43.6 


.55.3 


65.8 


69.9 


68.8 


03.5 


51.7 


40.0 


31.4 


48.4 


Block Island. R. I 


30.1 


33.3 


35.it 


42.8 


.51.9 


62.4 


68.5 


68.4 


64.7 


.55.3 


44.9 


30.1 


49.6 


New Haven. Conn 


26.5 


30.6 


34.5 


45.2 


57.3 


66.9 


70.9 


69.5 


65.0 


53.0 


40.8 


31.1 


49.3 


New London, Conn 


28.8 


32.1 


35.9 


45.3 


56.4 


65.7 


70.3 


69.3 


65. 1 


54.3 


42.3 


33.5 


49.9 


Middle Atlantic States : 




























Albauv, N. Y 


25.0 


30.0 


34.8 


47.8 


61.2 


70.1 


73.2 


71.9 


65.9 


53.0 


40.4 


30.4 


50.4 


New York City 


30.0 


33.6 


36.7 


47.0 


.59.3 


68.3 


72.6 


71.6 


67.5 


.56.2 


43.2 


34.4 


51.0 


Philadelphia, "Pa 


31.7 


37.1 


40.2 


49.9 


62.6 


71.5 


75.1 


7^.7 


69.3 


.57.7 


44.6 


36.1 


.54.1 


Atlantic City, N. J 


32.4 


35.7 


38.6 


46.7 


.57.8 


66.9 


72.6 


71.6 


68.8 


.58.5 


44.5 


36.8 


52.0 


Barnegat City, N. J 


31.9 


35.1 


38.3 


46.0 


57 . 2 


66.5 


72 . 2 


71.1 


68.0 


.57.7 


44.2 


36.4 


.52.0 


Cape May, N. J 


34.8 


39.0 


41.4 


48.9 


60.0 


68.5 


74.1 


72.9 


70.1 


60.6 


48.0 


39.4 


.54.7 


Sandy Hook, N. J 


30.8 


34.1 


37.6 


47.1 


.59.5 


68. S 


74.0 


72.8 


69.0 


.57.9 


45.0 


35.8 


.52.7 


Delaware Breakwater, Del 


32.1 


38.6 


40.4 


48.1 


59.7 


68. -J 


73.2 


72.4 


69.9 


60.8 


47.5 


3.^.2 


54.0 


Baltimore, Md 


34.4 


39.7 


42.5 


.52.6 


65.3 


73.6 


76.9 


74.7 


70.2 


.59.6 


46.0 


3S.:i 


.56.1 


Washington City 


32.3 


38.5 


41.2 


.51.7 


t>t.9 


73.0 


70.2 


74.3 


70.2 


59.0 


44.7 


36.5 


.55.1 


Cape Henry, Va 

Chmcoteague Va 


39.9 


45.0 


46.4 


.54.0 


65.2 


73.3 


77.:: 


76.1 


73.4 


64.6 


5"' . "^ 


44.6 


.59.2 


33.5 


39.2 


41.4 


49.4 


6(1.2 


69.5 


74^4 


73.1 


70.5 


61.3 


47!9 


38.9 


55.0 


Lynchburg, Va 


37.5 


43.)^ 


46.! 


55.9 


6K.ll 


74.8 


7.K.0 


76.0 


71.1 


61.1 


46.7 


40.4 


4S.2 


Norfolk, Va 


40.7 


46.6 


48. 


55.6 


67.6 


75.2 


l^^.U 


76.7 


73.1 


63.7 


.51.2 


44.6 


60.1 


South Atlantic States: 




























Charlotte, N. C 


41.5 


48.3 


.50.4 


58.8 


69.0 


76.1 


79.4 


76.7 


71.8 


63.3 


49.8 


43.8 


60.6 


Hatteras, N. C 


43.2 


48.8 


50.0 


55.2 


66.0 


74.2 


78.2 


77.4 


75.3 


67.6 


.56.2 


47.3 


61.8 


Kitty Hawk, N. C 


42.2 


46.7 


47.5 


53.6 


64.8 


73.5 


78.2 


70.3 


74.0 


05.5 


.53.6 


40.4 


60.1 



86 



SOME LATE WOEDS 



Mean temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit) at stations of the Signal Service, United 
States Army, for each month and the year, ^c. — Continued. 



Stations. 



South Atlantic States — Continued 

Macon, J'ort, N. C 

Smithville, N. C 

Wilniingtou, N. C 

Charleston, S. C 

An^ista, Ga 

Savannah, Ga 

Jacksonville, Fla 

Florida Peninsula : 

Cedar Keys, Fla 

Key West, Fla 

Sanford, Fla 

Ivistern Gulf States : 

Atlanta, Ga 

Pensacola, Fla 

Mobile, Ala 

Montjiomery, Ala 

Vicksburg, Miss 

New Orleans, La 

Western Gulf States : 

Shreveport, La 

Fort Smith, Ark 

Little Kock, Ark 

Galveston, Tex 

Indianola, Tex 

Palest' Tie, Tex 

Rio Grande Valley: 

Browntiville, Tex 

Rio Grande City, Tex 

Ohio Valley and Tennessee: 

Chattanooga, Tenn 

Knoxville, Tenn 

Memphis, Tenn 

Nashville, Tenn 

Louisville. Ky 

Indianapolis, Ind 

Cincinnati, Ohio 

Columbus, Ohio 

Pittsburg, Pa 

Lower Lakes : 

Buffalo, N. Y 

Oswego, N. T 

Rochester, N. T 

Erie, Pa 

Cleveland, Ohio 

Sandjiskv. Ohio 

Toledo, Ohio 

Detroit, Mich 

Upper Lakes; 

Alpena, Mich 

Escanaba, Mich ..^ 

Grand Haven, Mich 

Mackinaw City, Mich 

Marquette, Mich 

Port Huron, Mich 

Chicago. Ill 

Milwaukee, Wis 

Duluth, Minn 

Upper Mississippi Valley : 

Saint Paul. Minn 

La Crosse, Wis 

Davenport, Iowa 

Des Moines. Iowa 

Dubuque, Iowa , 

Keokuk, Iowa 

, Cairo, lU 

Sprinrfeld, HI , 

^int Lonia, Mo 



43.8 
47.3 
48.3 
51.6 
48.8 
53.1 
57.4 

58.2 
71.8 
55.6 

44.1 
.54.1 
52.3 
49.5 
49.0 
55.9 

46.8 
32.0 
42.5 
53.6 
53.0 
42.0 



49.8 

51 

53.5 

.56.3 

.54.9 

57.6 

61.4 

62.3 
73.1 
65.3 

.50.0 
58.4 
57.1 
.55.1 
54.9 
60.5 

52.1 

40.8 
48.0 
58.3 
58.2 
54.0 



58.6 62.9 
57.6 64.4 



41.9 
39.0 
40.8 
39.6 
35.7 
29.5 
34.8 
29.5 
31 

24.0 
25.7 
24.3 
27.4 
25.9 
27.4 
7.3 
5.8 

18.0 

14.0 

25.2 

14.8 

16.5 

21. 

24.7 

20.4 

10.0 

12.4 
16.0 
22.9 
20.3 
19.0 
24.5 
35.9 
27.8 
29.7 



48.0 

45.4 

47.0 

45. 

42. 

35.5 

41.0 

35.8 

36.4 



51.4 
«^53. 
55.0 
.58.3 
57.3 
60.6 
64.2 

64.5 
73.9 
68.4 

53.0 

61.8 

61 

58.4 

.59.4 

63.9 

58.9 
50.7 
54.1 
64.0 
64.7 
60.8 

68.8 
.7 

51.5 
48.4 
52.1 
49.7 
45.1 
40.1 
44.2 
39.1 
38.6 



57.1 
60.2 
61.2 
64.3 
64.1 
66.7 
69.6 

70.5 
77.2 
70.8 

61.0 
67.9 
68.0 
65.5 
66.4 
70.0 

66 

59.4 

62.7 

69.9 

70.8 

65.2 



74.178.8 82.6 



26.6 
28.9 
27.3 
30.7 
30.7 
32.0 
32.0 
31.0 

19.6 
16.3 
27.9 
14.0 
17.7 
25.5 
29.6 
25.8 
15.2 

18.4 
22.7 
28.9 
25.8 
25.0 
30.6 
42.5 
34.1 



29.4 

31.6 

30 

33.1 

33.3 

35.1 

36.0 

34.6 

24 

22.6 

31.8 

20.2 

23.5 

29.0 

34.8 

31.1 

24.2 

28.6 

31.0 
35.4 
34.3 
33.0 
37.6 
47.6 
40.0 



36.0142.1 



68.0 
70.2 
70.1 
72.8 
72.4 
73.9 
74.9 

76.0 
80.0 
75.5 

.1 
73.9 
74.4 
72.9 
73.1 
75.6 

73.6 
68.0 
70.0 
76.3 
76.4 
0.6 



76.2 

60.0 
57.6 
62.0 
.59.0 
56.0 
51.9 
54.3 
50.0 
0.3 

40.1 
41.9 
42.0 
43.6 
44.2 
45.6 
46.9 
45.6 

36.1 

35.7 

43.2 

36.5 

36.5 

40.1 

45 

42.3 

37.8 

44.9 

47.0 

49.5 

49.0 

47.8 

51.8 

.58.8 

53 

54.9 



8».3 85.3 



75.0 
7.0 

76. 

79.5 

78. 
.3 
.7 

80.7 

83.7 
78.6 

75.4 
9.7 
80.7 
79 
79.9 
81 

81.0 
76.8 
77.9 
82.4 
82.0 
8.6 



78.8 
80.7 
79.9 
82.8 
81.9 
83.3 
82.9 

82.7 
85.3 
82.4 



77.7 
8.8 
8.2 

80.6 
9.5 

80.5 

81.0 



5.0 
74.8 

4.6 
76.9 
75.6 
76.6 
77 



81.779.6 

84.2182.7 
80.4 78.0 



78.5 75.8 72.0 



9 
70.6 
69.2 
66.9 
64.0 
65.6 
62.8 
63.1 

53.6 
.54.9 
6.3 
.57.5 
.58.3 
60.7 
60.4 
58.8 

49.2 

50.1 
.56.0 

46.'.; 

49.5 
53.3 
.57.1 
.54.2 
48.3 

58.5 
60.7 
62.0 
60.9 
60.6 
63.5 



75.077.675.9 
73.2 75.2 74.4 

8.0]S0.4 78.9 
4 



.1 
63.8 
65. 



81.0 
81.1 
81.3 
81.3 
83.0 

83.1 
79.6 
80.0 
84.0 
83.2 
81.5 

83.4 

86.8 



80.377.3 
80.4 77.3 
79.676.* 
80.3175.4 
82.0 78.9 



81.7 
76.7 
78.6 
83.4 
82.3 
79.6 

82.2 
83.1 



74.0 

72.5 

3.8 

70.8 

70.6 

63.8 
63.7 
64.9 
66.3 
67.0 
68.5 
69.3 
67 

.59.0 
61.0 
64.5 
.59.9 
.58.1 
62.8 
65.1 
62.1 
58.2 

67.0 
69.1 
69.8 
69.5 
68.4 
71.8 
75.9 
71. 
3 



2i73 



77.1 
75.3 
77.0 
4.1 

2.8 

68.1 
68.7 
68.8 
70.3 
70.4 
72.2 
73.1 
1.2 

64.3 
65.3 
68.3 
61.9 
63.8 
67.0 
70.8 
67.8 
65 

69.9 
71.5 
73.6 
72.7 
72.0 
76.0 
8.5 
5.3 
77.0 



6.0 

74.1 
75.6 
72.5 
71.9 

68.5 

68.6 

69.0 

69 

69.4 

71.4 

71.4 

70.3 

64.0 

64.1 

67.7 

62.1 

63. 

67.3 

71 

68.1 

64.1 

69.6 

70.8 

72.7 

72.0 

71 

74 

77.3 

74.0 

76.1 



5.3 

2.5 
72.6 
80.1 
79.4 

75.8 

79.4 
82.5 

71.1 
70.2 
72.6 
71.5 
70.4 
67.6 
70.4 
67.4 
67.9 

63.9 
63.5 
65.1 
64.9 
65.2 
66.4 
66.2 
65.2 

58.0 
57.0 
62.5 
,57.8 
56.9 
62.3 
65.3 
61.6 
56.4 

59.9 

62. 

65.5 

63.9 

63.3 

67 

70.7 

67.1 

70 



67.6 

66.8 

67.0 

69.5 

68 

69 

72.6 

74.1 
9.4 

74.8 

05.1 
71.9 
1.4 
69. 
68.9 
73.2 

68.4 

64. 

65.5 

74 

74.6 

68.7 



55.5 

54.6 

55.1 

5' 

54.8 

58.6 

62.5 

63.6 

5.4 

67.1 

.51.2 
.59.4 
.58.8 
55.3 
55.3 
61.4 

54.4 
51.3 
.51.5 
62.2 
62.3 
56.7 



■5.5 65.4 
■4.8 63.6 



63.8 

62.4 

65.2 

64.1 

60.9 

57.0 

60.2 

56 

57.0 

.51.5 

51.4 

.50.9 

54.5 

.54 

.55.0 

.54.8 

54.3 

46.3 
46.3 
51.6 
48.5 
46.0 
.50.2 
.54.3 
51.5 
45 

48.6 

.51.4 

54 

.52.7 

.52.1 

55.6 

62.2 

56.7 

ilso.o 



49.6 

47.0 

.50.1 

48.6 

46.6 

41.5 

45.3 

41 

42.5 

38;6 
39.4 
37.6 
40.9 
39.5 
40.6 



48.4 

49.4 

50 

53.4 

50.2 

.54.6 

58.4 

.5^.7 
71.9 
64.0 

46.1 
55.4 
.53.4 



62.4 
63.7 
64.1 
66.9 
65.5 
67.9 
0.2 

71.1 
78.2 
71.6 

7 
4 
68.0 



.50.6 66.0 
51.8 06.2 
57.4 70.2 



.50.0 
40.4 
45.3 
57.8 
.57.3 
49.7 

61.8 
.2 

43.6 
40.4 
43 
41.6 

38.8 
32.4 
37.0 
33.2 

34.81 

30.2 
30.4 
29.0 
32.7 
30.5 
31.8 
40.8131.8 
40.0 31.2 



32.2 
30.7 
38.4 
35.7 
30.8 
35.6 
39.3 
35.6 
28.3 

31.0 

34.2 
39.1 
36.4 
5.8 
39.9 
47.4 
41.8 
44.0 



23.6 

1.0 

29.6 



26.9 
29.2 
25.0 
14.9 

17.6 

21 

28.11 

24.3 

24.2 

28.5 

39 

31 

34.1 



65.8 
59.5 
62.3 
70.5 
0.2 
65.0 

■2.6 
■3.1 

60.4 
58.2 
61.7 
60.0 
.57.4 
53.3 
i6.5 
i2.6 
.53.1 

46.5 
47.4 
47.5 
49.2 
49.0 
50.8 
50.8 
49.7 

41.2 
40.5 
47.2 
40.0 
40.5 
45.1 
48.8 
45.5 
39.1 

43.9 
46.6 

.50.2 
48.5 
47.8 
51.8 
58.5 
.53.0 
55.1 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 



87 



Mean temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit) at stations of the Signal Service, United 
States Army, for each month and the year, ^c. — Continued. 



Stations. 



Missotiri Vnlley : 

Leaven woi-ili, Kans 

Omaha, Nebr 

Bennett, Fort, Dak 

Huron, Dak 

Yankton. Dak 

Extreme North west : 

Moorhead, Minn 

Saint Vincent, Minn 

Bismarck, Dak 

Buford Fort, Dak 

Northern Slope : 

Aasinaboine Fort, Mont 

Benton Fort, Mont 

Custer, Fort, Mont 

Helena,, Mont 

Maeinnia Fort, Mont 

Poplar Biver. Mont 

Shaw, Fort, Mont 

Deadwood, Dak 

Cheyenne,' Wyo 

Noiith Platte, Nebr 

Middle Slope 

Denver, Colo 

Pike'a Peak, Colo 

West Las Animas. Colo 

Dodge City. Kajis 

Elliott, Fort, Tex 

Southern Slope : 

Sill, Fort, Ind. T 

Concho, Fort Tex 

Davis, Fort, Tei 

Stockton, Fort, Tex 

Southern Plateau : 

Santa Fe, N. Mex 

El Paso, Tex 

Apache, Fort, Ariz 

Grant, Fort, Ariz 

Prescott, Ariz 

Thomas Camp, Ariz 

Yuma, Ariz 

Middle Plateau: 

Winnemucca, Nev 

Salt Lake City, Utah 

Northern Plateau: 

Boise City, Idaho 

Lewiston, Idaho 

Dayton, Wash 

Spokane Falls, Wash 

North Pacitic Coast : 

Can by. Fort, Wash 

Olympia, Wash , 

Tatoosh Lslaud, Wash 

Portland, Oreg 

Rosenburg, Oreg 

Middle Pacific Coast: 

Cape Mendocino, Cal 

Red Blvitf, Cal 

Sacramento, Cal 

San Franciso, Cal 

South Pacitic Coast: 

Los Angeles, Cal 

San Diego, Cal 

Alaska Stations : 

Saint ^lichiiers. Fort, Alaska. 

Sitka, Alaska 

Dnalaska, Alaska 

Behring's Island, Behring Sea 



27.0 
20.5 
10.4 
9.8 
15.9 

-2.7 
-6.8 
5.4 
5.1 



32.0 
25.2 
16.2 
14.4 

18.8 

5.6 
1.5 
10.9 
10.2 



41.0 
34.7 
28.4 
27.7 
29.4 

16.8 
12.7 
21.2 
22.1 



53.7 
49.7 
43.0 
43.6 

44.8 

37.8 
33.5 
38.5 
39.2 



,0 24, 



,30.3 
1.8 
21.9 
27.4 
31.7 



42.8 
42.4 
43.1 

27.2 
43.4 
33.8 
42.1 
34.5 
40.1 
52.8 



29.5 
3.4 
26.1) 
30.8 
35.5 



48.3 
47.8 
5 

31.6 
48.9 
37.4 
44.3 
36.0 
46.8 
56.3 



64.3 

62.5 
56.5 
!52.8 
59.7 

.'53.3 
51.2 
55.2 
53 

,52..') 
53.2 
54.5 
51.6 
47.6 
.55.0 
39.5 49.9 
38.0 49.0 
39.8 49.3 
46.8 57.9 



3.5 

2.1 
18.2 
16.3 
69. 



.7 

.5 

70.8 

3 

72.4 



75.2 
73.9 
71.8 
.6 
72.3 



64.8|66.4l66. 
62.1 
65.3 
64.3 



63.4 
67.8 
06.5 



63.4 

67. 

66.7 



67.8 

65 

60.1 

58.0 

61.8 

.55.4 
52.4 
55.8 
53.7 



56.4 

3.r 

46.3 
46.8 
49.5 

42.6 
39.6 
43.0 
41 



41.4 
41.8 
44.0 
4|41.4 
37 
38.6 



63 

63.2 

64.5 

61.1 

59.4 



66.2 
68.8 
70.0 
66.6 
61.5 



59.7 63.2' 



39.6 
7.2 
40.9 
41.8 
45.7 



47.2 
13.0 
48.4 
.52.2 
55.5 



50.562.2 



28.9 30.0 
27.9 29 



28.5 
31.6 
30.9 
28. 

42.6 
37.8 
41.5 
39.3 

39.8 

46.6 
45 
45.3 
49.3 



30.6 
30.4 
29.1 
24.2 

38.2 
30.9 
.36.6 

38.0 
;39.8 



.56.9 
.53.7 
.56.1 

38.6 
55.4 
43.5 
.lO.O 

:!.5 

62.5 

.38.9 
40.0 

41.5 
43.2 
42.4 
38.0 

44.0 
43.3 
4J 
46.0 



64.0 
59.2 
62.5 

46.6 
63.0 
49.4 
.57.0 
49.1 
.59.5 
68.3 

40. 
47.9 

49.0 

50 

48.9 

47.4 

50 

48.0 
49.2 
51.1 



55.4 
21.8 
.57.2 
61.6 
63.1 

1 
71.2 
67.0 

70 

55.4 
71.5 
56.7 
65.8 
57.0 
68.4 
76.3 

53.4 
.57.1 

.57.2 
58.6 
55 

.55.7 



60.4 
60.7 
68.8 

66.9 
33.6 
68.9 
73.2 
73.2 

78.4 
79.9 



45.9 50.5 



44.6 48.6 
47.0.53. 
47.7.53.4 

49.7 52.5 



52.0,53.1 

.52.8 53.5 



5.3 
37.0 
31.3 
25.7 



1.6 
32.7 
33.8 
28.8 



54 
.55.1 

10.8 
37.0 
33.0 
26.8 



.53.1 
50.9 
56.6 
56.0 



47.8 
57.9 
56.8 
53.9 

57.6 

57.8 

19sl} 
42.7 
35.0 
29.6 



6 

6K.ti 

70. ( 

67.-. 

63." 

66.0 



.53.2 40. 
.55.5 41. 



62.9 
65.7 
'2.5 

72.3 
39.7 
5.1 
76.2 
76.0 

81.1 
81.7 



'4.9]75.7 
80.2 



65.9 

80.8 
67.0 
76.1 
66.4 
78.9 
84.5 

03.5 
68.5 

66.0 
66 
63.0 
63.8 



65.4 
64.3 

71.7 62. C 



51.0 
66.8 
63.4 
57.0 



i8.4 
53.3 
61.7 
61.3 

54.6 
4.9 
67.9 
57.9 



61.8 
61.4 

33.2 
46.6 
39.4 
36.0 



68.0 

81.8 
71.9 
77.3 
1.4 
83 
91.4 

71 

74.4 

72.1 
72.8 
67.4 
67.9 

58.6 
61.1 
55.8 
64.8 
65.5 

53.8 

82.3 
71.9 
58.8 



)7.0 
-.6.0 
U.5 
U.4 
52.4 
.53.4 



70.5 
38.1 
72.1 
73.9 

74.0 

79.7 
79.1 

71.0 
76.8 

64.9 

8.0 
69.0 
73.4 
69.1 
80.1 
90.1 

69.2 
74.2 

.1 

.0 



62.0 
30.7 
65.4 
67.0 
67.9 



72.962.6 



50.1 
20.5 
52.5 
54.6 
57.4 



9 

66.1 
1.0 

.58.0 
1.2 
62.1 
70.0 
62.1 
72.7 
82.9 

58.' 
63.; 

:58.6 
59.7 

58 



64.8 
60.. 5 
63.2 



67.3 55.7 



65.6 
64.5 

46.2 
51.2 
45.8 
42.2 



60.7 

61.5 

.56.4 

64. 

63.8 

.55.0 

79.3 

70.7 

8.1 

69.6 

68.5 



,57.6 
,55.6 
.52 

.58.9 
59.9 50.1 



53.8 55.8 
50.4 50.4 
47.4151.8 



41.2 

37.0 
29.2 
30.4 
32.5 

23.6 
19.3 
25.9 
24.9 

28. 
30. 
31. 
29. 
32. 
23. 
30. 
31. 
32. 
33. 

36.5 
10.0 
36.9 
38.0 
41.0 

46.8 
.51.2 
4JJ.9 
50.4 



48.5 

62.1 

52. 

60. 

51. 

59.5 

60.9 

44.9 
49.6 

47.0 
49.0 
48.1 



30.5 
3.7 

18.3 
17.8 
19.0 

9.7 
4.5 
10.0 
8.0 

16. 
19. 
18. 
20. 
20. 

21. 
21. 
27. 
23. 



31.7 
6.7 
26.9 
29.1 
33.8 

37.7 
46.1 
45.5 
46.3 



.35.0 
49.5 
40.3 
49.7 
40.9 
48.0 
59.7 

33.0 
36.1 

36.6 

38.0 
:!7.4 



47.135.9 



51 

48.9 

49.1 



57.2 
72.2 
68.1 
59.2 

67.5 
66.3 

43 

51.9 
47.0 
47.2 



.53.3 
60. 
59.1 
57.4 

61. 
61. 



53.3 
49.5 
43.6 
41.8 
45.6 

36.8 
33.2 
39.0 

38.1 

40.3 
42.6 
43.6 
42.6 
38.8 
36.3 
41.2 
41.2 
43.5 
47.4 

49.4 
18.9 
49.2 
52.2 
54.6 

60.2 
63.1 
59.2 
62.2 



30 

45.8 

36.5 

45.1 

37.6 

43.3 

55.4 

32.4 
83.6 

31.8 
.31.3 
30.5 
27.6 



42.1 
43.2 
46.4 
.4 
43.1 

.51.3 

.3 

.1.1 
54 

57.4 

57 



25.8 49.9 
39.3 48.9 



42.0 



45.142.2 



34.7 



38.130.4 



46.8 
62.5 
51.7 
59.3 
51.5 
61.4 
70.8 

48.0 
50.3 

49.4 

50.4 
48.2 
46.2 



i9.4 
40.1 
41.5 

49.0 
46.6 
46.1 



47. S 
.51.4 
.51.5 

.51.2 
61.6 

.58.5 



.54.5 
55.6 

4.4 
35.2 
32. U 
27.4 



00.4 
60.1 

26.7 
43.9 
40.6 
35.7 



88 



SOME LATE WOEDS 



The followiujf, owing to want of space, is a selected table. It is given 
fromtlio standpoint of winter, mainly ; so as to show the climate j)articularly 
at that season : 



MONTHLY AVERAGE OF CLOUDINESS AND HUMIDITY FROM NOVEMBER, 1879, 
TO NOVEMBER, 1884. 



CLOUDINESS. 



HU:\IIDITT. 






a 



Boston 

New Haven 

Albany, N. Y 

New York City 

Philadelphia 

Baltimore, Md 

Wa shington City 

Jacksonville, Fla 

Sanford, Fla 

Galve.st.ou, Texas .... 
Brownsville, Texas... 
Chattanooga. Tenu... 

Knoxvillc. Tcnn 

Nashville, Ttnin 

Louisville. Ky 

Indianapolis, Ind 

Cincinnati, O 

Columbus, O 

Pittsburgh, Pa 

Butialo. N. Y 

Rochester, «• Y 

Cleveland, O 

Toledo, O 

Detroit, Mich 

Grand Haven, Mich. 

Chicago, 111 

Milwaukee, Wis 

Duluth. Minn 

St. Paul, Minn 

La Crosse, Wis 

Davenport, Iowa 

Des Moines, Iowa. . . 

Dubuque. Iowa 

Keokuk. Iowa 

Cairo, 111 

Springfield, 111 

St. Lonis, Mo 

Leavenworth, Kan... 

Omaha, Neb 

Port A.ssiuaboine, M. T. 

New Orleans. La. . . . 

Los Angeles, Cal. . . 

San Diego, Cal 

San Francisco. Cal.. 

San Antonio. Texas'* 

From September, T872, 
t« and including Octo- 
ber. 1879. 

New Orleans, lor .same 
period 



5.4 
.5.4 
5.9 
5.8 
.5.6 
5.6 
6.0 
4.7 
4.5 
5.5 
.5.8 
C.3 
6.4 
7.5 
6.3 
6.3 
6.4 
7.0 
7.1 
7.7 
T.9 
7.4 
7.0 
7.0 
7.9 
5.7 
6.0 
5.1 
4.9 
4.8 
.5.5 
4.8 
4.7 
,5.6 
6.1 
5.7 
5.4 
5.0 
5.0 
5.4 
.5.3 
3.1 
4.1 
4.7 



4.9 
5.0 
5.6 
.5.1 
5.3 
5.3 
5.6 
4.6 
3.7 
5.4 
5.6 
5.9 
5.7 
6.1 
6.0 
5.9 
6.1 
6.5 
6.6 
6.5 
6.9 
6.5 
6.4 
6.1 
6.5 
5.5 
.5.8 
5.5 
4.9 
4.8 
.5.5 
5.0 
5.4 
4.9 
5.7 
.5.2 
5.4 
5.0 
4.9 
4.8 
5.0 
4.0 
4.4 
4.7 



5.5 
7.5 
6.1 
5.4 
5.5 
5.4 
5.5 
3.9 
4.0 

5^5 
5.3 
5.3 
5.7 
5.9 
6.2 
5.9 
6.5 
6.5 
6.3 
6.7 
6.6 
6.4 
6.3 
6.1 
5.8 
6.0 
4.9 
5.2 
5.3 
5.7 
.5.4 
5.9 
5.5 
5.4 
5.5 
5.4 
5.1 
5.4 
4.8 
4.9 
4.5 
4.8 
4.6 



0.0 

5.4 
7.1 
5.7 
5.9 
5.3 
5.7 
4.6 
3.7 
5.4 
5.8 
.5.9 
5.4 
6.3 
6.3 
6.4 
6.5 
7.2 
7!l 
8.2 
8.4 
7.6 
7.3 
6.9 
8.1 
6.0 
6.3 
5.8 
.5.1 
5.4 
6.1 
6.0 
6.2 
5.8 
6.3 
6.3 
6.0 
5.3 



3.2 
4.5 
4.6 



5.3 
5.3 
6.2 
5.5 
5.6 
5.4 
5.7 
4.4 
4.0 
5.4 
5.7 
5.8 
.5.7 
6.1 
6.1 
6.2 
6.2 
6.8 
6.8 
7.2 
7!5 
7.2 
6.8 
6.8 
7.1 
5.7 
6.0 
5.3 
5.1 
.5.7 
5.7 
.5.3 
5.5 
,5.4 
5.9 
.5.7 
.5.5 
5.1 
5.1 
.5.0 

SA 
4.4 
4.6 



71.9 
73.3 
69.2 
77.4 
76.4 
71.0 
78.5 
76.6 
78.2 
82.5 
82.0 
74.7 
79.4 
77.6 
74.1 
73.0 
74.6 
74.4 
78.2 
80.6 
79.6 
800 
76.2 
-,7.4 
80.4 
73.1 
79.3 
77.2 
71.1 
72.0 
65.8 
68,5 
66.1 
74.9 
77.5 
71.3 
70.9 
70.7 
71.1 
65.0 
73.4 
62.7 
65.6 
75.6 
69.9 



72.7 
73.1 
08.3 
77.3 
72.7 
67.0 
72.3 
71.8 
75.0 
.S0.6 
81.1 
67.7 
70.2 
71.5 
68.2 
71.3 
70.7 
71.1 
73.4 
78.6 
78.8 
77.0 
73.4 
76.8 
80.5 
70.0 
78.1 
73.8 
71.5 
70.0 
06.7 
68.3 
66.5 
71 5 
73.2 
68.9 
78.2 
67.6 
69.7 
67.0 
71.1 
65.0 
08.5 
73.5 
62.8 



71.0 
68.1 
65.6 
71.8 
69.5 
63.3 
68.5 
65.5 
72.9 
78.3 
80.6 
63.7 
66.4 
68.1 
63.6 
G5.0 
04.7 
65.7 
68.8 
75.9 
76.7 
75.0 
68.5 
73.3 
77.1 
68.9 
7.5.6 
71.6 
68.9 
69.4 
64.7 
67.3 
65.5 
09.1 
07.1 
64.8 
72.4 
63.6 
67.1 
66.7 
68.9 
72.5 
74.8 
73.6 
62.0 



71.5 
75.6 
71.8 
76.8 
74.9 
68.4 
75.2 
76.0 
77.8 
79.6 
82.9 
72.2 
76.2 
75.7 
71.4 
74.4 
74.2 
74.6 
77.7 
78.2 
80.6 
SO.O 
75.8 
77.2 
80.9 
74.8 
79.6 
78.0 
72,7 
72.1 
72.1 
71.4 
68.5 
75.4 
74.9 
70.8 
76.7 
71.6 
71.1 
62.8 
73.1 
67.1 
69.6 
79.9 
09.2 



72.0 
72.5 
68.7 
75.8 
71.1 
67.4 
.73.6 
72.5 
76.0 
80.2 
81.6 
69.6 
73.5 
73.2 
69.3 
71.7 
71.5 
71.4 
74.5 
78.3 
78.9 
78.0 
73.5 
76.2 
79.9 
71.7 
78.1 
75.1 
71.5 
70.9 
07.3 
68.9 
66.6 
72.7 
73.2 
68.9 
75.5 
68.2 
69.7 
65.4 
71.6 
66.8 
69.6 
7.5.6 
65.5 



71.3 
72.1 
64.6 
72.8 
72.3 
66.1 
71.3 
73.4 
76.7 
77.0 
79.8 
71.1 
71.9 
71.1 
69.0 
68.0 
67.7 
67.7 
70.0 
74.7 
72.6 
71.9 
70.1 
71.1 
75.8 
70.8 
7.5.0 
74.2 
70.9 
68.3 
67.5 
69.5 
66.9 
70.2 
72.4 
67.7 
73.0 
66.8 
68.7 
60.0 
71.9 
68.2 
71.9 
70.8 
69.2 



2.0 69.9 70.3 



*San Antonio is not given in the above table of humidity. 

[The table embracing the above points is found on the table concerning Shreveport, found 
elsewhere. J 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 



89 



The following is kindly furnished by Capt. Kerkam :' 

"the climate of north LOUISIANA. 

i " There are few, if any States, in the Union, that possess a milder or more 
genial elimate than Louisiana. This has been demonstrated repeatedly 
Avithin the i)ast year by i\ r-onipilation and publication of statistics covering 
all sections of the T'nited States and the greater portion of Europe, in the 
interest of the innuigratioii movement to this State. Of North Louisiana bnt 
little more can or need l)e said than has already been placed on record. The 
only difference between the climate of the northern and southern sections of 
the'State. is a sliglit increase in tlie range of temperature as Ave leave the Gulf 
coast, and atmosphere less humid, and a rainfall averaging altout fonr inches 
less annnally. Prior to the establishment of the Louisiana Weather Service, 
we had no complete records for the various parishes, so that in making a 
comparison of the tem]ieratures, etc., with Northern States, the year of 1888 
will alone be considered. 

Table shoivhig the iemperaturea, percentage of sunshine, average numher of rainy 
days, areraye annual rainfall, and dates of first lilliny frosts in North 
Louisiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Ilidiana, Iowa, Michigan, for the year 1888. 
(Compiled from statistics obtained from the Directors of the various State 
tveather services.) 





TEMPERATURE. 


a 




1 










DEGREE!; 


— fahr't. 


O 

(0 

1 £ 


f-t 

o 

o ^ 
< 


Average annnal rai 
fall — Inches. 


=5 
o 

® 

< 


03 

-t-i 

Ti 
O 

6 


o 


OR 
STATE. 


2 

< 






® 
to 

g 


be 

B 
■-1 


North Louisiana. 


65 


102 


13 


89 


48 


94 


48.68 


T 


T 


Nov. 11th. 


Tennessee 


58 


104 


2 


102 


50 


101 


48.29 


4 


11 


Sept. 13th. 


Ohio 


^0 


102 


—15 


117 




125 


39.64 






Sept. 3rd. 
Aug. 23rd. 


Indiana 


51 
46 

1 1 


106 

96 

101 


—19 
—27 
—36 


125 
123 
137 


48 
51 
45 


101 
124 
107 


41.77 
36.75 

''S 68 












Sept. 1st. 


Michigan 




39 


39 


100 


—54 


154 




90 


27.18 






Ang. 9th. 









From the foregoing table it will be seen that, during the past year, the 
range of temperature for North Louisiana was but 98 degrees against 102 
degrees for Tennessee, 117"^ for Oliio, 125"^ for Indiana, 123° for Iowa, 137° 
for Michigan, and 154-^ lor Minnesota. 

The lowest temperature, 13s was reported from Farmerville, La.; the 
remaining stations in Nortii Louisiana, reporting minimum temperatures from 
15 to 21^. Supposing 1888 to have been nearly an average year for tlie States 
luentioned in the table, wlnire are the conditions to equal them? Surely not 
where the killing frosts of fall occur as early as August and September, or 



90 



SOME LATE WORDS 



where the average number of rainy days exceed those of North Louisiana by 
from 10 to 30, or Avhere the temperature falls to zero and even 54° below that 
point If we have the moisture in the air accredited to us, why is it that 
scientitic observations fail to bear it out, and that the record for North 
Louisiana as regards humidity is but one per cent below that for the extreme 
Northwest, and less than that recorded for Tennessee, Northern Georgia, and 
the uiajority of the States in which signal stations have been in operation for 
the past eighteen years ? 

The average rainfall for 1888, as shown in the table, was 48.88 inches, less 
than half an inca more than for Tennessee. This amount of rain fell on 94 
days, or an average of about half an inch of rain every four days. Is this too 
much to keep crops in good condition ? We had between three and four 
inches of rainfall in January and February, about six inches in March, over 
two inches in April, and between four and five inches in May, five inches in 
June, nearly three inches in July, between six and seven inches in August, 
about an inch in September, between two and three inches in October, two 
and a quarter inches in November, and between four and five inches in De- 
cember ; the general average rainfall being four inches per mouth, which is, 
as a rule, evenly distributed. R. E.' Kerkam, 

Signal Corps Director. " 



If my article were not so long, I would give a table to show the rainfall or 
precipitation in those localities where a man says that he can stand 105^ or 
110", Fahrenheit, in summer, better than in Louisiana, 96° ; the country 
Avhere rain, sometimes, falling never reaches the earth, because the thirsty air 
driuksit; where fruits, vegetables, flowers are not (excei)t by irrigation); 
where " the field eludes the tiller's toil" (if the latter be fool enough to try 
agriculture) ; Avhere the mirage is the phantom of water ; where drought 
blights even hope. But I simply rest on the fact of our raiufall, and a small 
table, Avhich certainly is an admirably compiled one, by way of illustration : 

From a table prepared for the Daily States, by Capt. Kerkam, I extract 
these data : 





Temperature. 
Decrees Fahrenheit. 


Average precipi- 
tatioii — Inches 
and hundredths. 


3 m o 

ri 


Mean rela- 

tivehum'd'y 

Per cent. 




1 
"So 

H 


1 


be© 


0-3 

(-< B 
ij a 


i 

.3 


a 


3 


OS 

3 
S3 

a 




100 
104 

99 
100 
105 

99 

95 
108 

9G 
105 
100 

98 
lOi 

98 

97 


— 6 

—12 

—23 

—39 

—40 

3 

34 

28 

13 

—29 

15 
11 
15 


31 
35 
27 
16 
7 
41 
52 
54 
30 
30 
34 
47 
56 
55 
56 


51 
56 
49 
44 
39 
52 
56 
60 
48 
49 
55 
62 
70 
70 
69 


10.66 
IJ.IO 
6.69 
3.30 
1.95 
22.80 
13.39 
9.53 
1.99 
1.88 
7.57 
17.86 
10.30 
11.49 
13.16 


43.09 
42.36 
37.10 
28.82 
20.10 
51.49 
23.82 
17.29 
14.14 
15.00 
38.76 
55.66 
57.06 
52.22 
50.50 


5.1 
5.2 
5.1 
5.0 
4.8 
6.0 
4.1 
3.4 
3.7 
3.8 
4.9 
5.0 
4.4 
4.6 
4.8 


73 
72 
74 
73 
77 
79 
75 
65 
53 
55 
71 
68 
73 
79 
71 


71 




66 




71 




70 




70 




72 




75 




68 




44 




49 




68 




67 




73 




76 


*New Orleans 


72 



*EainfaU record from 1836 to 1888. 

The above table is compiled from Signal Ser^ace records covering period 
from November 1, 1870, to December, 1887, inclusive. 

The lower rainfall of New Orleans is established by the painstaking re- 
search of Capt. Kerkam, who has gone into investigations outside of pub- 
lished data. 



ABOUT LOOISIANA. 91 

I now append some statements from the last United States censns : 

Prof. Hilgard, in his article on Louisiana, in Vol. 5, Tenth Census, speaks 
thus of the climate of the State: 

"Owing to its nearness to the Gulf of Mexico, and the prevalence of winds 
from that direction, the climate of Louisiana is much less extreme than that 
of the States lying further North — the sunmier heat being less oppressive, 
though more prolonged, and the winter's average temperature 52.8'^ at New 
Orleans, 45.4° at Shreveport), very mild, thoiTgh liable at times to sudden 
and severe ' cold snaps,' brought on by northerly storms, which restrict the 
culture of tropical fruits on a large scale to tlie immediate neighborhood of 
the Gulf coast. On such occasions the temperature may fall to 17°, even at 
New Orleans, and to 15° in Northern Louisiana. November, December and 
January are the coldest months, June, July and August the hottest ; the 
temperature ranging from 74° to 98°, with a mean of 81.6° at New Orleans, 
while at Shreveport the range of temperature within the same months is 
from 64° to 95°, with a mean of about 81°. 

" The rainfall at New Orleans amounts to nearly 73 inches annually ;* at 
Shreveport about 47 only, but iucreases slightly toward the Mississippi 
Valley. At New Orleans the rainfall is most copious during the three hottest 
months, and somewhat less duriug the three coldest ; during both, about 40 
inches of rainfall is received, tho rest of the annual precipitation being more 
or less distributed over the spring and autumn." 

The above statement requires modification ; as the winter of 1885-6 (the 
coldest I can discover), showed thus : for New Orleans, 15° ; for Shreveport, 
1°. This weather, for both locations, was in January, 1886. 

Thus I have given testimony from the three highest authorities possible : 
The United States Signal Service Reports, the United States Censns, and the 
later researches of Capt. R. E. Kerkam, Director of the Signal Service of 
Louisiana. Outside of the testimony of Sacred Writ, where can more author- 
itative proofs be adduced in behalf of any fact, than are produced here in 
attestation of the glorious verities of the climate of Louisiana? If, after all 
the testimony here collated, doubters are still found, they are not amenable 
to conviction, and are wedded to unbelief. Yours truly, • 

M. B. HiLLYARD." 



We have dwelt with great particularity upon the climate of 
Louisiana It is, perhaps, the most vital of all topics ; because 
even health itself, the dearest of all consideiations to almost 
everyone, is dependent upon climate. Then, there is no State in 
the Union, whose climate is so utterly misjudged and underrated 
as that of Louisiana ; and it is a duty, as well as a pleasure, to 
eudeavor to disabuse the i^ublic mind, and to commend the love- 
liness of our climate, and to comm;ind for it public appreciation. 
Then, more and more, the Soutli (Florida and California, particu- 
larly), is filling up with cliui ate hunters : i^ersons of wealth, 
culture, im|)aired health, who bring immense benefits to the 
places where they settle Louisiana desires such. She offers 
attractions that neither Florida nor California can surpass (if 
they or either can equal); and we beg such home-seekers to in- 
vestigate the charms of Louisiana's climate before making homes 
elsewhere. 

*Capt. Kerkam, by investigations of the most recondite character, reduce* it to 58.60. 



92 



SOME LATE WORDS 



THE PflHiSHES OF IiOUlSmHfl. 



EXTENT, CUTIVATION, POPULATION. 



PARISH. 



Ascension , 

Assumption , 

Avoyelles , 

Baton Eoiige, East. , 
Baton Kouge, West, 

Bienville , 

Bossier , 

Caddo , 

Calcasieu , 

Caldwell , 

Cameron , 

Carroll, East , 

Can-oil, West , 

Catahoula 

Claiborne , 

Concordia , 

DeSoto 

Feliciana, Fast .... 
Feliciana, West.... 

Franklin 

Grant 

Iberia 

Iberville 

Jackson 

Jeft'erson 

Lafayette 

Lafourche 

Livingston 

Lincoln 

Madison 







3 


"p 


& 






•9 g 
2 1 


ss 




<1 


< 


.37.3 


37,908 


327 


30.511 


843 


84,787 


305 


40.020 


210 


20,753 


850 


45.048 


773 


69.420 


85'J 


95.409 


3.401) 


14,003 


53.5 


18.267 


1,545 


5,743 


400 


56,793 


380 


10.071 


1,350 


29.823 


765 


120,000 


620 


45,816 


850 


82.239 


450 


53.118 


302 


21,115 


550 


22,104 


.578 


24.414 


536 


49,604 


640 


42.112 


576 


26,604 


395 


19.767 


262 


62,704 


1,024 


44.802 


575 


10.467 


485 


108,084 


670 


48.395 



PARISH. 



^lorehou.se 

Xatchitoclies... 

Orleans 

( )uachita 

I'hiquemines ... 
I'diiite Coupee. 

Kapides 

K.mI liiver 

Richland 

Sabine 

St. Bernard 

St. Charles . . . . 

St. Helena 

St. James 

St. John 

St. Landrv 

St. ]Martin 

St. Mary 

St. Tammany .. 
Tangipahoa . . . 

Tensas 

Terrebonne . . . . 

Union 

Vermilion 

Vernon 

Washington . . . 

Webster 

Winn 



Total 44,426 



760 

.290 
18' 
640 
930 
575 

,498 
386 
578 

.008 
680 
284 
413 
308 
190 

;.270 
618 
648 
923 
790 
612 

.806 
880 

.226 

.540 
668 
594 
954 



57.379 
58,909 

4.436 
48,84' 
30,908 
50,594 
76,149 
33.930 
31.409 
18.524 
11,8.50 
21,177 
28,285 
54.675 
29.213 
137,370 
39,876 
66.326 

3.895 
21.021 
78,079 
40,403 
02.001 
25,330 
10,303 
18,224 
42.40i 
22,548 



2,507,935 



14,200 

19,722 

216,140 

14,723 

11,575 

17,799 

23,597 

8,.573 

8 444 

7,344 

4,405 

7,161 

7,504 

14,714 

9,686 

40,002 

12.662 

19.891 

6,887 

9,638 

17,824 

17,9.56 

13.520 

8.735 

5,160 

5.190 

10,005 

5,846 



940,103 



Acadia, lately dissevered from South Saint Landry parish, is not computed with reference 
to above statistics : no authentic data being obtainable. 

We now proceed to give descriptions of various j)arislies, and 
endeavor to observe the classification of Professor Loekett, and 
therefore place the following in his category or area of " Good 
Uplands." 

The following is taken from a " pamphlet descriptive of the 
parishes in North Louisiana : " 

NORTH LOUISIANA. 

North Louisiana is ricli in annals and reniiui.scence.s of Indian life and 
warlare, of hardships, ])iivations and endnrance of fortitude, and deed.s of 
heroism and valor, of 2)ioneer slru<;gles, which, if written, wouhl ri* a] the 
thrilling tales of fiction, biit as our task is to speak sober words of the pres- 
e--at, we shall ski)) the romantic and glorious ])ast. 

The inhaljitauts of North Louisiana are innnigrants, or the offspring of 
immigrants, from Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, (Jeorgia, North and .South 
Carolina, and from other States in the Union, and are generally of English, 
Scotch and Irish descent. As a class, the people of North Louisiana are 
thrifty, enterprising and wide awake, and are noted for their hospitality. 



ABOtJT LOtJlSIAXA. 93 

The parislif's described iu tliis pamphlet are sitnate<l in the northwest 
portion of the 8tate, and are ali)ha))etieally arranged, as follows : Bossier^ 
Bienville, Caddo, Claiborne, DeiSoto, Jackson, Lincoln, Natchitoches, 
Ouachita, Ked River. Sabine, Union and Webster. 

Shreveport and Monroe are the largest towns iu this section. 
Few States in the Union possess a greater diversity of surface-soil or a 
milder and more genial climate. The lands are noted for their wonderful 
fertility, particularly the lands nearest the rivers, bayous and lakes, which 
are classed as bottom and front lands. The lands called front lands by 
planters, are moderately sandy and easily worked. Tlie back lands, extend- 
ing beyond streams to the hills, are generally stiff, sticky and more difficult 
to break up, but yield marvelous crojis when cultivated intelligently. 

In North Louisiana the hill lands predominate, and are mostly tilled in 
fields, ranging froiu forty acres and upwards. Throughoirt the uplands, 
though there are not a great many ever-running creeks, water is foiind in 
abundance for man and i[)east, .and of the most desirable quality. The people 
residing in the hills or uplands are generally in good circumstances. By 
diversifying their crops, and giving attention to stock, they are self-sustaining, 
prosperous and happy. 

The character of uplands soil is sandy, of a grey and reddish cast, with a 
clay subsoil. These lands are fertile, and yield astonishing returns when 
assisted with manures and fertilizers. If the same care and the same amount 
of labor devoted by farmers in the Eastern and Western States on their acres, 
"were bestowed on these lands, they Avould eriual. if not exceed the products 
of the low and bottom lands, which are cultivated at a greater expense, and 
held at higher prices. The lauds on the streams comprise thousands of acres, 
which are divided into large plantations, and devoted to raising cotton, chiefly 
by negro labor. As a rule, the river planters depend upon St. Louis and 
other markets for their supply of corn and bacon. Lands of this kind are 
worth from $10 to $50, according to the improvements, and immunity from 
overflow. 

The i)rice of hill or uplands ranges from $1 to $5 per acre, and higher, with 
expensive improvements. 

There are thousands of acres of governiuent land which can be entered by 
complying with the homestead law, at from .$1 25 to $2 50 per acre. 

The railroads, also, have large tracts of very desirable and fertile lands 
which can be bought at $2 per acre and ujiwards. 

The products of the hills or uplands are .cotton, corn, tobacco, sorghnm, 
sweet and Irish potatoes, oats, rye, and millet for forage. The various 
grasses grow luxuriantly, and yield remunerative crops. 

Peaches, pears, apiiles and the various small fruits grow in great perfection. 
Grape culture has been tried, with marvelous success. Early vegetables of 
all kinds are raised with very little trouble and with profit. 

The staple product of the country is cotton, which commands a ready sale 
at all seasons of the year when placed on the market. But the people are 
gradually diversifying their acreage, especially in the hills. Before and dur- 
ing the great struggle between the States, the majority of planters and 
farmers had floiir and wheat of their own raising. There being no mills at 
hand now, wheat is only cultivated to a limited extent. A flour mill has 
been projected for Shreveport, and is now under fiiA'orable consideration. 

In the hill counties in eastern and northern Texas, adjacent to Caddo par- 
ish, which are not superior iu fertility to ours, wheat, rye and other small 
grain yield abundant returns. The same results can be obtained in this sec- 
tion, and only re(iuire the presence of increased white population to instill 
new life into this industry. 

Nature has been beneficent, and done wonders for North Louisiana, but her 
magnificent resources, still dormant, await further development. Instances 
conld be cited where hill lands in Caddo and adjacent parishes have be.en 
made to produce from 80 to 135 bushels of corn to the acre, and have yielded 
from three-fourths to a bale of 500 pounds lint cotton, worth from $40 to $45 
a bale. 
Within the past few years, particular attention has been given to blooded 



94 SOME LATE WORDS 

stock ; and there are a number of fine herds of Jersey, Holstein and short 
horn cattle in this section that will compare favorably with the best herds in 
many of the Western States. Pedigreed horses, mules, hogs and high bred 
poultry have not escaped attention, and the possibilities of the future in this 
department are assured by the encouraging and gratifying success attained. 

The saw mill industry is yielding a large income of wealth to those en- 
gaged in it, and it is yet in its infancy. The vast forests of short and long 
leaf pines, covering millions of acres in the virgin state, are awaiting the in- 
vestment of capital. 

The timber throughout North Louisiana is diversified, according to loca- 
tion, but it may be said to comprise the varieties known as hickory, red, 
white, black and post oaks, ash, walnut, cypress, beech, sweetgum, cotton 
wood, hackberry, sassafrass, persimmon, holly and the beautiful magnolia, 
always attractive and admired, nearly all of which are adapted to manufac- 
turing purposes. 

The rivers, lakes and bayous abound in fish of many varieties, such as 
perch, trout, bnifalo, cat, etc. 

The free public school system is not yet all that could be desired, but is 
rapidly improving and will receive a new impetus from increased population. 
The fund from this source affords free schools for five months in the year in 
the country, and for eight mouths in Shreveport. This fund is usually eked 
out by private means, and thus very fine school facilities are afforded. 

The spires of churches of all denominations rear their heads toward 
heaven, and in this land of promise, if not of milk and honey, unlimited 
liberty and tolerance are assured in the observance of religious faith. 

This section, of which Shreveport is the commercial metropolis, has rail- 
road connections with all points in the United States, Canada and Mexico. 

This is unquestiouably an inviting section of country, and when its advan- 
tages in soil, climate and health are considered impartially, it is almost im- 
possible to speak too strongly in their praise. 

Immigrants will receive a hearty welcome and kind treatment from the 
citizens of North Louisiana. 

CADDO PARISH. 

That fair section of Louisiana, Caddo parish — next to Orleans, the wealth- 
iest parish in the State — may certainly claim much in its especial favor, and 
it is with pleasure that we write of its advantages and resources. 

Caddo parish is situated in the extreme northwestern corner of the State, 
with fifty-eight miles of western boundary on Texas, and less than fourteen 
miles northern boundary on the Arkansas State line. Its natural eastern 
boundary is Red River, which, in its meanderings, gives Caddo parish a 
magnificent river frontage of 183 miles. It is bounded on the south by 
DeSoto and Red River parishes and Wallace lake, a distance of forty-four 
miles. 

Though crossed and penetrated by many bayous as large as Red river, and 
an unusually large lake through the center, it represents a landed surface of 
560,000 acres, of which 106,200 acres are in cultivation, and 45.3,800 acres are 
uncultivated. This surface is more varied than can be found anywhere in 
the same limits, including the fertility of the bottom lands, pine hills with 
fine clay subsoil, the less hilly section of hard woods with a black soil of 
usual producing qualities, the sandy soils for fruits, vegetables, melons and 
potatoes, a considerable prairie strip, which by many is considered the garden 
spot of the section, and last, the marshy belt adjacent to the river, lakes and 
bayous, making every character except mountainous and hard pan soils. The 
alluvial lands constitute nearly one-half of the acreage. 

Good titles are guaranteed all purchasers of land and real estate. 

Having heard so much of North Louisiana and Caddo parish, the reader 
will naturally desire to know more of this country. As he may be imprepared 
to com© at present, let bim then imagine that he is on a tour of inspection 
through the parish in company with a friend. They have started from 
Shreveport, and see, as they joirmey northward along Red river, plantations 
ranging from 100 to 600 acres and over, under fence. Cotton is the principal 



ABOUT LOUISIAKA. . 99 

crop cnltivated on these broad acres, which rival the great prairies of Illiiioia 
in fertility of soil. Now, let it be remembered that cotton is to the planters 
and farmers in this section and the South, what wheat is to the farmers in the 
Western States. It is the main crop upon which money is realized ; it is the 
cash staple always in demand at market quotations. 

The plantations and large farms on the streams are so especially adapted 
to the cultivation of cotton, that the planters, with few exceptions, insist 
that it is cheaper to raise cotton and buy corn than to divide their acreagre 
between a mixed croji. The average yield, on alluvial and river land, is 
from three-fourths to a bale of lint cotton to the acre, and a greater yield is 
obtained in propitious seasons. These lands are mostly cultivated by ne- 
groes, to whom they are rented for a stipulated share of the crop, or for an 
annual rental in niQuey. 

Along the river banks, and running back to the hills, are thonsands of 
acres of wooded lands, which some day will be broiight into a high state of 
cultivation. The lands are very fertile, and can be purchased at from $10 to 
$50 per acre. As we skirt Red river the scenery, although not as majestic, 
romantic or attractive as along the Hudson, is not devoid of interest. There 
are picturesque landscapes which are very pleasing to the eye. 

We have now reached the Arkansas and Texas line, and turn towards the 
uplands. As we move southward, we travel through a country with a rich, 
sandy, loamy soil, abundantly watered, and timbered with the various kinds 
of forest trees mentioned in the article on North Louisiana. Instead of large 
plantations, we now see small farms ranging from 40 to 160 acres. The up- 
Ip.nd country is not thickly settled, and there is room for thousands of fam- 
ilies who can obtain good lands at reasonable prices. Good springs are 
commiwi and numerous, and the best of water is obtained by digging wells, 
ranging 25 to 75 feet in depth. In the hill or upland section of the parish, 
there are not nearly so many negroes as on the plantations along the streams, 
and they are rapidly drifting to the low lands. The hill or uplands are 
settled by enterprising, intelligent or industrious people from many States. 
The population is representative, and somewhat cosmopolitan in character, 
and very hospitable. 

In the northern section of the parish are from 15,000 to 20,000 acres of gov- 
ernment lands subject to entry under the homestead law. Some of these 
lands are well situated, heavily timbered and very desirable. There are 
other lands unoccupied, which belong to private corporations, and may be 
obtained on easy terms. 

The Caddo prairie country, the first section settled in this parish, was a 
garden spot, until the formation of the great raft in Red river, which im- 
peded navigation and submerged these lands in the spring months, rendering 
them unfit for cultivation. The raft was removed in 1873 by Lieutenant 
Woodrulf, an engineer in the United States army, who died in the fall of that 
year. Since then a large area of these lands has been reclaimed, which are 
now in a high state of cultivation, and yield readily one bale of cotton, and 
from 50 to 100 bushels of corn to the acre. The Caddo prairie is about three 
miles wide and fifteen in length. In the past few years, great improvements 
have been made in opening up new farms. In this section there are State 
lands in the bottom and low places. The best locations have been taken and 
the remainder is worthless, except for the timber. Such lands can be bought 
for 75 cents per acre, but are not) the kind desired by immigrants. 

As we leave Caddo Prairie, we continue our journey through the hills. 
There is no great variation in the soil, and the general appearance of the 
country is alike. We need not speak of the water courses which we have 
crossed, and which abound in trout, perch and other varieties of fish, nor is it 
necessary to devote time to deer, turkey, ducks and other wild game met at 
various points. Having traveled an almost circuitous route, we find ourselves 
at the southern limits of the uplands in this parish and turn towards Red 
river. As we ascend this stream, coming in the direction of Shreveport, wo 
travel through a country similar to that bordering the river above the city. 
These lands are all very fine and good producers. We are now in Shreveport 
and will sit down and chat a little. 



&6 SOME LATE WOEDS 

"What is your impression, aud what do you think of the country ?" 

"Very favorable," is your answer. It could not be otherwise; in fact, 
there is no better country for men with limited means, for men of iudustrious 
and economical hal)its. 

" What will these hill or uplands produce ?" 

" The u})lands, when manured or assisted by fertilizers, will yield from 30 
to 60 bushels of corn to the acre ; on old land, without fertilizers, the aver- 
age yield is about 15 bushels. A bale of cotton to three or four acres is per- 
haps a fair average, but Avith fertilizers the yield may be increased to a half 
and three-quarters of a bale, and by an intensive system of farming to two 
bales to the acre. 

" The uplands are also adapted to the growth of tobacco, oats, wheat, rye, 
peas, beans, Irish and sweet potatoes, sorghum and all kinds of vegetables. 
It is a fact thiit sweet potatoes yield from 150 to 300 bushels to the acre, sell- 
ing at from .50 to 75 cents per bushel. Irish potatoes are very prolific, rang- 
ing from 100 to 200 bushels and over to the acre, worth from 50 to 75 cents 
per bushel, according to the time of year. Apples, peaches, jiears and nearly 
all the fruits of the Northern States, are raised in this parish with ])rofit. 
The various grasses yield abundantly, and when gathered for hay and forage 
add to the revenues of the farm. 

" Farmers in the hills or uplands, are prosperous and happy. They diver- 
sify their crops — but not to the extent they should do, — which in most in- 
stances, they cultivate or superintend in person. Being self-reliant, they are 
generally in good financial circumstances. All the white men engaged in 
agricultural pursuits are as robust and healthy as any class of farmers in the 
North and Northwest. The industrious white man can, by practising the 
same rules of economy observed in the North, soon accumulate a fair in- 
come, which may be increased by judicious handling or investment. Hun- 
dreds of white men, farming in this parish — many being from the North — 
will willingly verify these statements." 

It may appear strange, but it is nevertheless true, that over half of the 
cotton raised in the South is cultivr.ted by white labor. A white man can 
till his acres in the midsummer without detriment to health. It is a very 
rare occurrence when a person is afflicted with sunstroke. The heat of a 
summer's day is generally tempered by a pleasant breeze and refreshing airs, 
Avhich combine to cool the earth, tone and invigorate the growing plants, as 
well as the human system. The summers in this section are not enervating 
and debilitating, and there is not that sultriness that prevails in the North 
and Northwest during the heated jjeriod. In this section the white man is 
prepared for active Avork at daivn, feeling invigorated after a peaceful night's 
repose. 

There is no greater error than that which prcA^ails A\dth regard to the 
health of Avhite men doing outdoor Avork in Louisiana, and especially in this 
section of the State. There are hundreds and thousands of people CA'ery- 
AA'here in this State, Avho haA^e Avorked continuously in the field, for years, Avith- 
out injury to their health. 

Among the hill farmers, especially, there is a strong tendency toAvards 
mixed husbandrj', and particular attention is being given to tine stock and 
dairy products. This industry is yet in its infancy, but groAving rapidly. 

The country is well adapted to stock raising and dairying, and contains all 
the elements necessary to make these a grand success. Hogs and sheep are 
l)rofitable, and need A^jry little attention . 

Appreciating the A'alue of good stock, a number of public spirited citizens, 
a fcAV years since imported cattle and blooded horses and other stock. The 
success attained has been surprisingly gratifying. The cattle comprise the 
Jersey, Durham and Holstein breeds, and Avere secured at a cost of thousands 
of dollars from the most reliable breeders in the United States. At the an- 
nual exhibition of the North Louisiana Fair Association, in the fall of 1886 
and 1887, there Avas in the area as fine a lot of blooded cattle, horses and 
other stock as Avere eA^er seen anywhere in this country. NatiAe raised mules 
compared favorably in size and general ajjpearance Avith the jjroducts of 
Missouri, Kentucky and Texas. As an item of interest it may be said that in 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 



97 



the Shreveport market, from one tlionsaiid to twelve hundred mnles are sold 
annually at ])ric(>s ranging from $80 to ;J175 per head. Within a radius of 
lifty miles, plantors ])ay annually from !5;130,000 to $100,000 for umles also. 
The farmers, recognizing their mistake in the jjast, are now gradui'illy work- 
ing out a remedy by giving time to the rearing of stock of every description. 
The possibilities in this industry are unbounded and otFer a wide held for im- 
provement and money making. This is a grand section, and there are good 
openings for the thrifty and industrious classes. 

SHREVEPORT. 

The city of Shreveport, the county seat of Caddo parish, is situated on the 
west hank of Red river, 540 miles above its mouth. It is the metropolis of 
North Louisiana, the second largest, busiest and most populous city in the 
State. 

Shreveport is the natural emporium for all the vast section of country in 
Eastern Texas, Southwestern Arkansas, North Louisiana and all the upper 
and a portion of the lower Red river valley ; a scope of country whose fer- 
tility yields a Avcalth of agricultural products whose value is uuequaled in 
any State of the Union. From its inception, Shreveport, owing to its natural 
advantages, has b(^eu regarded, and justly, too, an important commercial 
railroad center, and is growing steadily. 

METEOROLOGICAL DATA 

of Shreveport, La., as deduced from 17 years of observations from official 
records. 



Mean temperature 

Maximum temperature 

Mininuin temperature 

Mean relative liumidity.... 

Mean cloudiness.. « 

Average number of clear days 

Average number of fair days 

Average numl)cr of cloudy days. . . 

Average number of rainy days 

Average rainfall 

Prevailing wind 



45.1 
78 

1.3 
73.5 

5.8 

8.6 
10.1 
12.3 
11.8 
i.OS 

S 



51. 

80.5 

15 

70.0 

5.5 

8.1 

10.1 

10.1 

10.4 

4.74 

S 



58.5 

90 

26 

GC.9 

5.0 

9.7 

11.7 

10.7 

10.2. 

4.67 

S 



65. 9 

93 

32 

67.1 

4.9 
10.2 
12.2 

7.0 

9.9 
5.68 

S 



73.7 
101 
47 

09.9 
4.5 

10.1 

14.4 
6.6 
8.2 

4.80 
S 



80.5 

104 

55 

70.6 
4.5 
9.4 

16.0 
4.6 
9.5 

3.4i 
S 



S3.0 

107 

64 

72.1 

4.0 
12.1 
14.6 

4.3 
10.0 
3.90 

S 



^ 



8'. 

105 
58 
70 

3.5 
13 
14.6 

2.7 

6.4 
2.05 

SE 



cc 



75.3 
101 

47 
71.8 
3.7 
14.6 
9.9 
5.6 

4.39 
SE 



05.3 

95 

81 

72.8 

3.7 
15.1 
10.4 

5.4 

6.9 
3.68 

SE 



54.4 

86 

18 

72.1 

4.5 
11.3 
10.2 

S.5 

8.8 
4.84 

S 



48.8 

79 

10 

73.3 

5.4 
10.1 

9.4 
11.6 
10.6 
5.18 

S 



05.3 
107 
1.3 

70.7 
4.0 

11.1 

12.0 
7.4 
9.2 

5239 
S 



BOSSIER PARISH. 

The parish of Bossier was created by Act of the Legislature of February 12, 
1843, hitherto being that part of the parish of Claiborne particularly de- 
scribed in the act of incorporation. It remained, intact, as originally incor- 
porated, until 1871, when a part of her territory was cut off and given to 
Webster parisli. 

Bossier parish lies in the extreme northwestern part of the State, fronting 
Red river on the west for about seventy-live miles, and only separated from 
Texa^s by the parish of Caddo. On the north it is bounded by the State of 
Arkansas. In area it contains 753 square miles. Oak uiilauds, or what is 
commonly known as the " hills,"in (»ntradistinction to the alluvial lands, 
553 square miles, of which about 80 sipiare miles are " red lauds," and the 
remaining 220 square miles are alluvial lands. 

"The course of emjjire takes its way," so these 1,'inds have been chiefly 
settled up by people from the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. 
According to the census of 1880, the population v\^as a little over 16,000. It 
now numbers more than 20,000. 

The parish ia traversed from east to west by the Vicksburg, Shreveport and 



98 SOME LATE WORDS 

Pacific railroad, and from north to south, from the Arkansas line to Shreve- 
port, by the St. Louis and Arkansas Southern railroad, thus affording easy 
access to the markets of the North and East by two competing lines. 

An almost unbroken line of levees protects the river lands from Benton to 
Red River parish. In consequence of these levees, and the removal of the 
raft, the channel of the river has been widened and scoured out by the in- 
creased velocity of the current, and the possibility of the recurrence of the 
overflows of 1866 and 1867 happily reduced to the minimum. 

Bossier is conspicuously a cotton parish ; her soil and climate being pecu- 
liarly adapted to its growth. Here the cotton wood — the true index of the 
cotton belt, — springs up with the rapidity, and fights for life with the tenacity, 
of the "old field pines" of Carolina and Georgia. 

The alluvial lands average about seven miles in width, and are equal to 
the best lands in this or any other country. 

The hills — that is all lands other than the alluvial lands, and a term often 
misleading strangers, — are rich and productive, and timbered with exuberant 
abundance ; they produce grains and grasses of all kinds. The common, rich 
with native grasses and marked with frequent water courses, offer splendid 
and inexhaustible pastures to those who may feel disposed to engage in stock 
raising. Our climate is mild and healthful, and so far, we have escaped the 
storms and droughts that have wrought such destruction among our less 
fortunate fellow-citizens in other States. 

Bossier is a parish of exceptional prominence as an agricultural country, 
and ranks fairly as a timber and cattle country. Nothing is raised but 
cotton and corn in the bottoms, but the hill farmer raises a diversified crop 
for home consumption. The timber of the parish is largely oak, pine, cypress, 
walnut and gum, with all the other smaller growths intermixed. The hill 
country, in which the whites predominate, has school houses and churches in 
abundance, Avhile the colored people of the Point section and the river 
country are also taking great interest in both. 

The principal towns in the parish are Bellevue, Haughton, Midway, Rocky' 
Mount, Red Land and Colhusburg. 

Home-seekers are assured a hearty and cordial welcome in Bossier, where 
land can be purchased at low figures and on reasonable terms. 

DB SOTO PARISH. 

This parish is situated in the northwestern part of Louisiana, 30 and 32° 
north latitude, and 16 and 18° west longitude. It extends from Red river, on 
the east, to the Sabine, on the west, containing 910 square miles, with a pop- 
ulation of 17,000. 

Mansfield, its capital, very nearly in the centre, is forty miles south of 
Shreveport ; is one of the most driving and wide-awake towns in the State, 
and a railway centre of importance ; about 300 miles north of New Orleans 
and 200 miles northeast of Houston, Texas. 

DeSoto parish is in direct communication with these trade centres by two 
navigable streams and by two lines of railway. The New Orleans and 
Shreveport division ot the Texas and Pacific runs on the divide between the 
Red and Sabine rivers, through the centre of the parish, twenty-six miles. 
The Houston, Texas and Shreveport runs through the northern part of the 
parish twenty miles. The all important question of transportation is abun- 
dant, and in all respects satisfactory. 

The town of Grand Cane is a jilace of considerable local importance, and 
has a good country to back it. 

Logansport, on the Shreveport and Houston, near the Texas line, is doing 
a good business. 

DeSoto is what is called in Louisiana a hill parish, in contradistinction 
to the alluvial, prairie, and long leaf-pine region ; that is, the lands are roll- 
ing and wooded. The soil is light, sandy loam, with a clay foundation, well 
timbered with every variety of oaks, hickory, pine, ash, beech, gum, etc.; 
universally well watered, either by springs or wells from twenty to forty feet 
deep. The drainage of euriace water into Red river, on the east, and the 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 99 

Sabine river on the west is perfect, leaving no swamps, ponds or marshes to 
produce malaria. Timber is abundant for all purposes. Good lumber can be 
had at the mills for $7 50 per thousand ; cypress or heart pine shingles at the 
stump for $3 50 per thousand. The lands are easy of cultivation ; produciDg 
when fresh, one-naif bale of cotton, twenty-five bushels of corn or oats, and 
one hundred bushels of potatoes per acre. After being worn by long and 
rough usage, it responds readily to manures. It is generally conceded that 
one dollar's worth of connjiercial fertilizer applied to an acre, is sufJScient to 
restore all worn lauds to their original fertility. Better still, all worn lands 
set to bermuda grass and Lespedeza clover will not only furnish first-class 
pasturage for eight months, but will restore the land at the rate of 25 per 
cent per annum. No lands in the same degree of latitude can be better 
adapted to fruits and vegetables than the well drained, sandy loam of this 
section. Land is valued at from $2 to $10 an acre, according to situation, the 
quality being about the same. Proximity to towns, depots, schools and 
churches establishes the price. 

DeSoto ofters great inducements to the agricultural class of immigrants of 
moderate means and industrious habits, with her cheap lands. A fertile soil, 
adapted to a wonderful variety of field crops, fruits and vegetables ; an 
abundance of timber, water and pasturage. Having a population of less 
than twenty souls to the square mile, there is ample room for thousands to 
come and occupy the waste places. Those who have large means, and wish 
to pursue the all-cotton or all-sugar plan, had better seek the alluWal lands. 
But for homes, with all the comforts of life, as a reward to industry, DeSoto 
yields to no section in the South. 

This section was settled, principally, in the fifties, by planters from South 
Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, who abandoned the worn lands of the older 
States, to occupy the virgin soil of North Louisiana. They were almost uni- 
versally persons of means, education and refinement. Schools and churches 
Avere established as soon as neighborhoods were formed. A tirst-class college . 
was established at Mansfield by the Methodists ; another in the western part 
of the parish, at Keachi, by the Baptists. Both institutions are still m a 
flourishing condition, with over 400 pupils in attendance. The descendants 
of such a people, though impoverished by the late civil war, are naturally 
Christianized, law-abiding, civil, hospitable and refined. Thro\igh all ad- 
versity, they have clung with wonderful tenacity to education and religion. 
The interest divided from the sale of every sixteenth of a section of land, 
and the whole of the poll tax are devoted to public school purposes. Owing 
to the sparcity of population, the amo\int so derived is inadequate, but suffi- 
cient to furnish free tuition for three months each year. By private subscrip- 
tion, added to public funds, a large number of schools are open for the full 
term. 

In the southeastern part of the parish, embracing a scope of territory per- 
haps ten miles square, are the Dalett hills. These hills are too broken for 
successful cultivation, except in small tracts, but are covered with splendid 
pine timber, a fine native grass for grazing, and, according to late geological 
examination, rich in coal and iron. The Texas and Pacific Eailroad company 
have been, for some time past, prospecting and examining the coal in this 
region, and report favorable results. 

lu the southeastern part of the parish the growth is principally pine, of the 
short-leaf variety, offering great inducements to lumbermen. These lantls 
are level, and well adapted to cultivation, after being denuded of the native 
growth. The native grasses furnish an excellent range for stock in this 
region. 

The swamp lands bordering the Sabine river are celebrated for the great 
abundance of white oak timber suitable for staves, and red cypress, the best 
wood in the world for shingles. The supply is almost inexhaustible, and the 
demand cannot be supplied. But this region is necessarily unhealthy, which 
denies the settler the comforts of a happy home. 

A warm welcome is extended to all honest, industrious persons who may 
wish to make homes in DeSoto, 



100 SOME LATE WOEDS 

CLArBORNE PARISH. 

The parish of Claiborne, as originally incorporated in 1828, and named 
Claiborne in honor of Louisiana's tirst Governor, comprised within its then 
boundaries enough territory to make a State of dimensions that Rhode Island, 
at least, Avould have respected. 

Such were the attractions and advantages of the original Claiborne parish. 
However, immigrants swarmed into its territory, and the increase in popula- 
tion made necessary its subdivision into smaller parishes. So that now, 
lands originally lying in Claiborne are embraced within the bounds of the 
parishes of Bossier, Jackson, Bienville, Webster and Lincoln, and the Clai- 
borne of to-day is reduced to an area of 778 square miles, or 447,920 acres, 
bounded on the north by the State of Arkansas, on the east by Union and 
Lincoln parishes, on the south by Bienville and Lincoln, and on the west by 
Webster. 

But though it has given of its territory to the formation of new parishes, 
Claiborne still holds within its borders many broad and fertile acres, and in 
diversity of natural resources, may still justly claim to be the banner hill 
parish of Lonisiana. 

The parish records show for the year 1887 an assessed valuation of 

Lands .$834,245 

Tovm Lots 68,080 

Total realty $902,325 

Live Stock $279,555 

Other personalty 213,485— 493,040 

Grand total $1,395,365 

The rate of parish taxation in 1887 was 9 mills on the dollar. This will be 
redticed to 7 mills in 1888, and will show a reduction of 3 mills in the last 
three years ; yet, within those three years the parish has bought and paid for 
a Poor Farm $100 — and has erected a Jail at a cash outlay of $6,000. There is 
not a dollar of parish debt outstanding, and the Treasurer's reports show a 
balance of about $7000 in the parish treasury. In Louisiana the members of 
the parish police juries are appointed by the Governor from the body of the 
parish, and have control of the liscal matters of their respective parishes. 

A gray surface soil, underlaid by a yellow or reddish subsoil, prevails 
throughout the parish. Along the creeks and branches the lands are, of 
course, richer, and show larger yields per acre, but even the poorest uplands 
are so hajipily adapted to fertilization that, the intelligent and industrious 
farmer can usually make as much as he can gather. 

Cotton and corn are the chief products, but other crops are profitably 
grown. The following iigures, obtained from W. J. Mercer, parish assessor, 
show approxiiuatelv the field crop yield of the parish in 1887 : 

Cotton, 41,000 acres, vield in bales, 22,500. 

Corn, 45,000 acres, yield in bushels, 572,327. 

Oats, 7500 acres, yield in bushels, 72,310. 

Ribbon cane, 130 acres, yield in barrels molasses, 450. 

Sorghum, 250 acres, yield in barrels molasses, 1000. 

Svweet ])otatoes, 800 acres, yield in bushels, 97,347. 

The average yield of cotton per acre is about one-half to three-quarters of a 
bale, and of corn. 20 to 25 bushels. Exceptional cases have been recorded, 
however, Avhere tlie yield has been much hirger. 

For example, in the year 1887, Mr. G. W. Alexander, of this parish, was 
awarded tlie premium at the Shreveport Fair for the best acres of corn, his 
being 129 Imshels and 48 pounds. Another ('lail)orne farmer made 2218 
pouiids of seed cotton on one acre of hill land, and still another, with one 
mule, made 14 bales of cotton, averaging 418 pounds to the bale, 240 bushels 
of corn, 40 bushels of sweet potatoes, 20 of peanuts, 62 gallons of sorghum and 
1262 bundles of fodder — paying for help to make this crop only $16 50. 

These yields, as above stated, are exceptional, yet they serve to show what 
handsome rewards await the application of industry and intelligence. 



ABOUT LOdlSIANA. 101 

Ribbon cane, on good land, with proper cultivation, will yield from 500 to 
600 gallons of molasses per acre, which readily sells at from 40 to 50 cents 
per gallon. Sorghum, which is usually planted on poor lands here, yields an 
average of 400 gallons to the acre, and sells at 25 cents per gallon. Potatoes, 
peas, and all vine crops, yield so abundantly that figures giving their actjial 
yield seem fabulous. Wheat is grown to some extent, but chiefly as a fcfirage 
crop, as there are no facilities here for grinding it. Oats (of the " Red Rust 
Prooff " variety) yield an average of 15 bushels to the acre. Rve and Ger- 
man millet, though not largely grown here, are said to do well. Fruit of all 
ki»d are successfully grown. 

All that has been needed to develop the fruit-growing industrj'^ of Claibbrne 
has been a lack of facility for transportation. This obstacle to its successful 
pursuit bids fair to be removed in the early future. The Loiiisiana North 
and South railroad from Magnolia, Arkansas (crossing the Vicksburg, Shreve- 
port and Pacific railroad at Gibbs,) to Alexandria, La., has already b^en 
completed from Gibbs to Homer, the parish seat of Claibornej and when com- 
pleted to its northern terminus, will afi"ord the people of Claiborne direct 
communication to St. Louis, Kansas City, Denver and other cities of the 
Northwest, and with New Orleans on the south. 

There are in the parish 19,000 acres of United States lands, and 6000 acres 
of State lands. The former are well timbered, and are of course subject to 
entry upon the terms prescribed by the United States homestead laws. The 
State lands are chiefly swamp lauds, but are well timbered, and can be 
bought at 75 cents j)er acre, or entered under State Homestead laws, similar 
in their provisions to the Homestead laws of the United States. 

Experience has proven that mules and horses can be profitably raised here. 
Colts grow rapidly, and can be put to work when two and a half years old, 
and even at that age stand the climate better than Western mules five years 
of age. A gentleman near the centre of the parish, who has been engaged 
in raising mules and horses for the past twelve years, says that the colts on 
his place have been uniformly free from disease, have grown rapidly, and 
have generally developed into larger animals than were their sires and dams 
of Western blood, and have commanded better prices in the home markets 
than can be obtained for animals from other States. He does not depend 
much on natural pasturage, however, but on lands too poor for other uses, he 
makes abundant crops of "speckled" field peas, which he feeds to his stock, 
and annually sows Avlieat to provide winter pasturage for them. He esti- 
mates the average cost of rearing a colt to the age of two years, at thirty to 
forty dollars. Few experiments with blooded cattle have been made here, 
not enough, indeed, to form the basis of an intelligent opinion as to results. 

The timber supply of the parish is limited, but is ample to meet all local 
demands. The school and church facilities are excellent. At Homer, the 
parish seat, is located a college, giving instructions in the higher branches, 
and empowered to confer diplomas. At Haynesville, the second largest town 
in the parish, is the Normal institute, and a high school with able teachers. 
At Summerfield, New Athens, Lisbon, Gordon, and indeed throughout the 
parish, a lively interest is shown in the cause of education. 

Being the highest portion of the State, abundantly supplied with pure 
water, and traversed by no sluggish bayous, it follows that Claiborne is the 
most healthy section of the State. 

Indeed, diseases of a malarial character are unknown here. The general 
healthfulness of the people is bespoken by the blushing tint of the maiden's 
cheek, the stalwart specimens of young manhood, and the numb'er of those 
who are still alert and active under a burden of years exceeding the allotted 
" three score and ten." 

To seekers of homes in our Southland, no section offers greater and more 
varied attractions than *' old Claiborne;" and those who come to dwell there, 
if acquainted with Indian lore, will no doubt think, as does this writer, that 
Alabama — " Here we rest" — would be a fitting name for the parish. 

The health, the homes, and the pockets of this people are open to worthy 
comers from all sections, but it would be hard to find less corufortable quar- 
ters for the idle, viciox;s and adventurous, than Claiborne affords. 



102 SOME LATE WOEDS 

SABINE PARISH. 

The parish of Sabine is Ibounded on the north by the parishes of DeSoto and. 
Natchitoclies, on the east by the parish of Natcliitoches, on the south by the 
parish of Vernon, and on the west by the Sabine river. 

The population is now something over 10,000, being principally white, and 
there being about 1400 white voters to 400 colored. There were but few large 
planters in Sabine previous to the war, the mass of the i')eople being uon-slaA'o 
owners, and most families cultivating their own farms. As a consequence, 
the result of the war failed to bear so heavily upon them, and the returned 
soldiers had biit to go to work with a will, repairing and building up their 
places, and being used to honest labor, had no new order of things to which' 
to adapt themselves. Taken all in all, Sabine can well claim to be one among 
the banner parisb.es of Louisiana. Her people are noted for their liealthy 
appearance, their hospitality, and their moral, upright and industrious 
habits. They have always been in a thrifty and independent condition, 
making it a rule to raise yearly an ample sufficiency of the home products for 
home consumption, and then plenty for market. The crops are diversified 
Cotton is the principal money-raising product, but then corn, oats, peas, 
potatoes, sugar cane, sorghum and poultry are raised in abundance. Nor do 
the people lose sight of stock-raising. In fact, stock of every kind raised in 
the parish more than supplies the home demand. Cattle and hogs abound in 
every section, and are raised with but little trouble, and no expense to the 
owner, there being both a summer and winter range for cattle, and the hogs 
grow perfectly fat in winter upon the mast, which seldom fails. It is the rule 
that every family owns the farm upon which they reside, and the corn-crib and 
smoke-house of every family is at their own home. There are no very 
wealthy people in Sabine, but a nmnber of good and extensive farmers, a 
number of solid merchants, and the people of every calling and following are 
out of debt, and have something ahead, and all are cheerful, happy and con- 
tent. The parish is strictly prohibition, there being no license issued for the 
sale of intoxicating liquors, and no way to obtain them excex)t from the 
hands of a regular physician for strictly medical purposes. The Farmers' 
Alliance is a very strong and powerful .organization in the parish, and ad- 
hering so closely to the real and original purposes of their order, ^md being 
under the lead of wise, pure-minded, honest and upright persons in every 
section, has been conducive of great benetits and untold good. 

The Texas and Pacific railroad passes a distance of some ten miles through 
the northern portion of the parish, and has one station, Sodus, a beautiful and 
thriving town near the northern boundary, and from that point, or from 
Eobeline or Marthaville, in the parish of Natchitoches, any portion of Sabine 
is easy of access. It is also expected that the Kansas City, Gulf and Wat- 
kins railroad will pass directly through the parish, from north to south. Al- 
ready the line has been surveyed through Fort Jesup and crossing the Texas 
and Pacific two miles west of Sodus. 

LANDS. 

There are several diff'erent kinds of land in Sabine, but those in ciiltiva- 
tion are what are generally termed uplands. Even the extreme uplands, a 
light gray, sandy soil, produce well, and tlie hammock lands and the creek 
bottom lands are very fertile, yielding with proper cultivation all that can 
be well gathered. The parish is literally threaded with streams of pure 
water ; some of considerable size and others smaller. The principal creeks 
running through the parish are: Bayous Toro, Negreet, Lanana, San Patri- 
cio, San Miguel and Bayou Cie, and all these have l>ottoms extending, on 
each side from' half a mile to a mile wide. The smaller creeks generally have 
bottoms of strong, rich soil, easily cultivated, and affording farms of any 
size. There is no section where a living is made easier than in Sabine, and 
there is no country more desirable when any person wishes to blend farming 
.with stock raising. 

TIMBER. 

No parish in the State can surpass Sabine in her wealth of timber. All 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 103 

along the Sabiue river is to be found fine cypress brakes, and a lucrative 
l)usiuess is done annually by many rafting both cypress and pine down the 
Sabine river to Orange, in Texas. Beyond this, however, the immense 
interest of Sabine is yet entirely undeveloped. Her greatest wealth is to be 
found in her magniiicent forests of both long and short leaf pine, even the 
latter being of such a superior quality as to make it little less valuable than 
the yellow or long-leaf pine. Capitalists have already began to turn their 
attention to these lands. Large size tracts are already owned by gentlemen 
living in Now Orleans, Cincinnati and NeAv York. In the creek bottoms and 
on much of the uplands is to be found hickory, white oak, red oak, beech, 
ash and cherry. To form a correct idea of the timber interests of Sabine, 
one must necessarily pass over the parish. 

CHURCHES. 

The principal religious denominations in the parish are: The Baptlat, 
Methodist and Catholic. It may be truthfully said of the people of Sabine 
that they are truly moral and religious people. Every neighborhood ha« its 
comfortable and substantial place of worship, and many of the church edi- 
fices would do credit to any country. Divine service on every Sabbath is 
within the reach of every locality. The various churches are supplied with 
worthy ministers, and are all well sustained. ** 

SCHOOLS. 

Under the management of an excellent school board, the public school sys- 
tem is working well. The parish is divided into school districts, and every 
district has a comfortable school hoiwe. Competent teachers are employed, 
and where the public fund is not sufficient to keep up a continuous school, 
the deficiency is supplied by the patrons out of their private funds. The 
police jury has now very wisely made a levy of two mills on the dollar for 
school purposes alone, and this, with the poll tax, the sixteenth section in- 
terest, and the fund derived from the State, will enable every neighborhood 
to have a public school during the greater portion of the year. 

NATCHITOCHES PARISH.* 

This parish Is situated in Central Loiiisiana, in what is known as the 
cotton belt, and is noted for the richness of its alluvial lands, general health- 
iness, good water, and educational facilities, freedom from overflow, pictur- 
esqtie scenery and the numerous inducements it holds out to intending 
immigrants. 

Both by water and rail, this parish is placed in easy and rapid communica- 
tion with New Orleans (about 250 southeast), and Shreveport (about 80 miles 
northwest). 

The rivers are numerous, viz : Red river, flowing in Mississippi, navigable 
by large steamboats ; Cane river, partly navigable ; Old river, bayous Pierre 
and Natchez. 

Some of the finest lands in the South are grouped round these streams, and 
they possess one single and striking advantage over most of the alluvial 
lands in the State, in being perfectly free from overflow, and well drained. 

The population of the parish is about 25,900, and the chief towns are 
Natchitoches, Robeline, Cloutierville, Campte, Provencal, Marthaville and 
Prudhomme. The educational facilities leave nothing to be desired ; besides 
every district being provided with a school, the famous State Normal college, 
famous for its able staflf of teachers and the great educational advantages it 
off'ers, is situated on a breezy eminence on the outskirts of the city of 
Natchitoches. 

In the towns and on the alluvial lands, cistern water is generally used; 
fine springs, however, many possessing valuable medicinal qualities are to be 
found. At Camp Salubrity, for instance, so named by the United States 

•This pariah I3 thoronchly marked with the three classes of lands, — " Good Uplands," 
" Alluvial,*' and " Pine Hills, and la hardly properly placed in the division now luider con- 
•ideratioa ; but we diallke to diaaoelate it £i-oiu its grouping is tLe pamphlet we are q uottftg ' 



104 SOME LATE WORDS 

soldiers, who made it their headquarters hefore the war, oa account of it» 
healthfulness there are sulphur, iron and magnesia springs. 

Summer is long, but equable ; hot spells, such as they experience in the 
North, being absolutely unknown. No case of sunstroke is recorded, and the 
seasons are free from blizzards, hail-storms and violent couvulsions of natuife. 
The winters of 1885-1886, and 1887-1888 are generally considered the severest 
within the last quarter of a century. Snow fell to the depth of six inches. 

The easy winters experienced here are one of the greatest attractions of 
this section. With care, grass can be obtained for stock all the year round. 

The epidemics, so common in the large Northern cities, seldom make their 
appearance here. Smallpox, typhoid and scarlet fevers are almost unknown, 
although isolated cases may have occurred in the parish. No record has been 
kept of them. Chills and fever in the spring and fall may be contracted 
through exposure. They seldom assume a dangerous character, except 
through the gross carelessness of the patient. 

Comparatively speaking, the parish may be said to be free from diseases of 
a severe malarial character. 

The best soils for purposes of classification, may be subdivided as follows : 

Good uplands — Soil, sandy gray, or yellow loamy or red ferruginous. Sub- 
Boil, red clay. Small bottoms very fertile. Forest — Oaks, hickory, ash, 
beech, maple, dogwood, gums and short leaf yellow pine. Health — Water 
good. Products — Cotton, corn, potatoes, small grain, fruit and stock. 

Pine hills — Thin soil, water good and abundant; good grazing; lumber, 
long leaf yellow pine. 

Alluvion — Black, dark-red, and reddish gray of great depth and of extra- 
ordinary fertility. Forrest — Water and live oaks, gum, willow, cotton wood, 
elms, ash, etc. Cane brakes aflford pasturage and shelter for stock all the 
y6ar round. Common products, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, etc. 

The following prices may be quoted in connection with these lands : 

Unimproved good upland and pine lands, $1 to $4 per acre ; improved, $3, to 
$10 per acre ; unimproved river lands, $4 to flO per acre ; improved, $8 to $25 
per acre. 

Game abounds in this country, and excellent lishing is to be obtained in the 
river, lakes and bayous. Society is exceptionally refined, and churches of 
every denomination are generally to be found in the town, where perfect reli- 
gious equality reigns. 

On this head we may quote from a letter of Bishop Galleher's (Episcopal) : 

" I am acquainted with the Natchitoches and Cane river country, and I 
know it to be healthful, productive and desirable. There is good land, good 
timber and good water there. The facilities offered by the Red river and the 
Texas and Pacific railroad make the country accessible, and confidently look 
forward to a large immigration to that section. 

"It has, in large measure, the settled features of good Christian civiliza- 
tion, and, at the same time, wide opportunity for settlers, who wish to make 
homes for themselves." 

The official report of the department of agriculture says of these lands : 

Such varied and valuable resources in a climate so salubrious, can hardly 
be found anywhere else on the face of the earth. 

CROPS. 

Cotton — Alluvion — 1| to 2 bales per acre ; go«d upland i to 1 bale per acre. 
Note — 3 bales have been made by using fertilizers. 

Corn — Alluvion — 40 to 50 bushels per acre: good upland 40 to 50 bushels 
per acre. Note — 100 bushels have been made by using fertilizers. 

TOBACCO. 

Tobacco of an excellent quality grows prolifically on the rich alluvioi^. It 
was formerly known in Europe as Nakatos Perique. 

GRASSES AND CLOVER. 

Bermuda grass indigenous, and mixed with vetch, burr clover and rescue 

grass, aflbrds all the year round pasturage. Tall meadow oats, and orchard, 
oinea, or Johnson grass, thrive well. 



ABOUT LOUISIAKA. 105 

Eed clover is also successful, while Japan clover, which chemists claim 
possesses more nutritious ipialities thau Kentucky blue grass, grows abund- 
antly in the uplands and aflorUs admirable pasturage. 



As a stock-raising, or dairy-farming region, this country claims and merits 
tlie highest distinction. 

LTNIO-N PARISH. 

With the exception of a small strip of alluvial land along the west bank of 
tlie Ouachita ri'ser, the parish of Union is composed wholly of oak uplands. 
Its area is 910 square miles, and its cultivated land amounts to 62.661 acres. 
There were produced in 1880, a total of 11,692 bales of cotton on 28,308 acres 
of land, or an average of .41 of a bale per acre. 

The uplands are hilly or rolling, and there is a little prairie. There are 
two chief varieties of u])laud soil, viz : sandy loam, and red stiff land. The 
former comprehends fully three-foiirths of the lands in the parish. Its timber 
growth is short-leaf pine, oak, hickory; dogwood, in the uplands; sweet gum, 
bay, mulberry, ash, etc., in the lowlands. The soil, to the depth of ten to 
twelve inches, is tine, sandy, clay loam, of a yellow brown or mahogany tint. 
The subsoil is heavier, and frequently contains small, dull red, angular sand- 
stone grave, and rocks. The soil tills easily at all times, and is warm and 
early. The crops grown are corn, cotton, sweet potatoes, peas, small grain, 
sugar cane, tobacco, vegetables and all kinds of fruit. The two last^ with 
cotton, seem to be best adapted to the soil. Cotton forms about one-half of 
the crojis planted ; usual height of stalk, four feet. In rainy seasons, and on 
fresh land, it sometimes runs to weed; this is remedied by toi^ping. The 
seed-cotton product on fresli land is 1,000 to 1,500 pounds per acre, of which 
about 1,350 pounds are needed for a 450-pound bale. The lint, when clean, 
rates in market as middling to fair middling. After five years' cultivation 
the product is .500 to 800 })()unds, about l,460"pounds being then needed for a 
450-])ound bale ; the staple is shorter and not so strong : will class as good 
ordinary or low middling. 

About 10 per cent of this upland is turned out for want of laborers ; when 
again taken up, it will yield from 750 to 1,000 pounds of seed-cotton per acre. 

The red or " mulatto " lands occur most frequently in the southwestern part 
of the parish, Tjut more or less in all, forming about one-hfth of the laud. 

The subsoil is red clay, containing flinty, white rounded gravel, underlaid 
by gravel or rock at three to ten feet. It tills easy in dry seasons, and with 
difficulty when wet ; is rather cold, and late in the spring. It is apparently 
best adapted to corn and grain ; about half is planted in cotton ; the stalks 
are about four feet high ; the seed-cotton product, 800 to 1,200 pounds, rates 
as middling in market ; no material difference after five years' cultivation. 

In the lowlands, on the streams, the soil is black clay loam, several feet in 
depth: subsoil lighter than surface. About two-thirds of the crops or these 
lands is cotton. The seed-cotton product on fresh land is from 2,000 to 3,000 
pounds, the stalk attaining a height of six to eight feet ; the staple rates as 
good middling. No change in quantity or quality of product has yet been 
noticed after years of cultivation. 

The lauds of the bottoms rank equal in fertility to the alluvial lands of the 
rivers. The thri\ing farms of the parish are largely on this land, which ex- 
plains the high name this jiarish takes in the north tier of hill parishes. Union 
is one of the banner i>arislies of North Louisiana, and the people are among 
the best, intellectually, morally and socially, to be found in any of the South- 
ern States. 

The prominent towns in this parish are Farmerville, the parish seat, 
and Shiloh. 

School and church facilities are equal to those of any parish in North Lou- 
isiana. 

The people generous, neighborly and very hospitable. 



106 SOME LATE WORDS 

WEBSTER PABISH. 

Webster parish was created by the Legislature of 1871 of the territory 
taken from Claiborne, Bossier and Bienville parishes, and contains abont 
300,000 acres of land, one-third being in cultivation, producing 10,000 bales of 
cotton, with corn, oats, peas, potatoes and vegetables, usually to supply home 
consumption. There are no alluvial lands in the parish ; but quite a number 
of creeks, all of which have a considerable border of what is styled good 
creek bottom land. Excellent well water can be had in all parts of the 
parish, and in many places can be found fine springs and small branches of 
good water for person and stock. The supply of timber is inexhaustible and 
of fine quality, chiefly red oak, post oak, white oak, hickory, ash, gum, and 
pine, and on the borders of the creeks large quantity of cypress can be had; 
also black walnut, which doubtless at no distant future will be very valuable. 
The Bayou Dorcheat, which passes through Webster parish from north to 
south, a distance of thirty miles or more, and makes its way into JRed Kiver 
through Lake Bisteneau and Loggy Bayou, is navigable for six months in the 
year for good class Red River boats to a point opposite to and within two and 
a half miles of Minden, the parish site, giving boating facilities equal with 
Shreveport on time and freight rates. Land has no fixed price ; from $1 to 
$10 per acre are about the ruling prices. It may be regarded as one among the 
best countries that can be found for poor men. No other could offer greater 
inducements to the man who is satisfied with a good comfortable living, pleas- 
ant and healthy home for himself and family. Such can be had here at a small 
cost and on easy terms. Any industrious, honest man can buy lands on time 
with 8 per cent interest, and get liberal advances made by merchants to mako 
his crops. The average crop, one year with another, is half bale of cotton and 
fifteen bushels of com per acre. The population of the parish is about 12,000, 
one-half colored. Minden, the parish site, and only town in the parish, has 
1,500 inhabitants, twenty business houses — several of them doing a business 
of over $100,000 annually. 

The taxable property of the parish is about one million, and Minden pays 
about two-thirds of the parish revenue. There is a special interest that is 
worthy of mention here. Minden is the parish site and has a handsome and 
substantial court house, with all other surroundings well and conveniently 
arranged, and as healthy a location as can be found anywhere ; with male and 
female colleges, equal to the best in any country in point of management, 
under good efficient principals and teachers, with commodious well arranged 
buildings and grounds. 

Minden is connected with the outside world through a tap railroad, which 
joins the Vicksburg, Shreveport and I'acifio railway, at Minden Junction. 
Besides Minden, the principal trading jtoints, are Lannesville and Dubberly. 
Webster parish is the home of a thrifty and enterprising class of people, who 
are self-sustaining and prosperous, generous and public spirited. 

LINCOLN PARISH. 

Lincoln parish has a total area of 485 square miles, all of which is wood- 
land. The red lands and the yellow loam each occupy about the same amount 
and form practically the entire soil of the parish, except a small amount of 
creek bottoms. These bottoms are the same as those mentioned in preceding 
parishes, but there is not so much of it in this parish. The lands of the par- 
ish, with the exception of a portion in the north part, which is decidedly hilly 
and broken, are gentle and rolling, and easily cultivated. The growth of the 
trees on this land is a pretty sure indicator of the fertility of the land. The 
larger the trees and the less admixture of the small or scrubby pine, the more 
fertile the lands. The lands of the parish wear well, and the use of fertilizers 
is becoming popular. The farming population is doing well and thriving, as 
in the parishes of Union and Claiborne. The timber of the parish is sufficient 
for home demand for many years to come. The eastern portion of the parish 
contains probably a larger percentage of creek or bottom lands, and timber is 
very fine. The pine, oak and hickory is the principal growth. The parish ii 
well provided with school houses and churches. 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 107 

Ruston, the parish site of this parish, is oue of the most prosperous towns 
in North Louisiana, is situated on tlie Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific rail- 
road, in the middle of a fertile country, and is growing into prominence. 

The towns of Simsboro and Choudrant, located on the railroad, although 
smaller than Arcadia and Ruston, are good business points. The country 
around these towns is settled by a splendid population, consisting mostly of 
white farmers. 

JACKSON PARISH. 

The parish is entirely upland, containing no alluvial soil. Its area Is 590 
square miles, divided thus : Oak uplands, 340 square miles ; long-leaf pine* 
hills, 250 square miles. In 1880 with 10,138 acres in cotton, there were pro- 
duced 3,753 bales, or an average of .37 of a bale per acre. To those seeking i 
healthy locality there is no region better than Jackson parish, with its oak 
uplands and long-leaf pine hills . 

The northern and greater portion of Jackson parish is rolling oak uplands, 
in which the pine-flat feature is much less common than in Bienville, the soil 
being chiefly of the pale-yellow loam type, with more or less of the red-land 
subsoil. The latter feature becomes very prominent north of Vernon, where 
the true red-land ridges, with their unpromising-looking but very productive 
and durable soil, occupy a considerable portion of the surface. Southeast of 
Vernon also, o.i the Bayoif Castor, there is a good farming region, rolling 
uplands, timbered with oaks, hickory, dogwood and chinquapin, mixed with 
some short-leaf pine on the hills, and with ash, beech, elm, sweet and black 
gums in bottoms. 

In the southern portion of Jackson parish, the long-leaf pine prevails alto- 
gether on the higher ridges and on the crests of the lower ones ; but, as in 
Bienville, the slopes are largely timbered with oaks, mixed with short-leaf pine 
and are fairly productive. 

BIENVILLE PARISH. 

Bienville parish, entirely upland, covers an area of 856 square miles, of 
which 756 square miles are oak uplands, the remainder being long-leaf pine 
hills. There are 45,089 acres in cultivation, and the parish in 1880 raised 
7,208 bales of cotton on 18,242 acres of land, or an average of .40 of a bale 
per acre. 

Bienville parish is mainly gently rolling and rather sandy oak uplands, not 
unfrequently almost level, especially in the western portion,. Post oak and 
short-leaf pine are the prevailing timber trees, intermingled more or less 
with other oaks and hickory, according to the qiiality of the land. The pale 
yellow loam soil is predominant. In the level portions, the gray pine-flat 
soil, is largely developed, and then the water oak and black gum for a char- 
acteristic ingredient of the timber. Most of flats, bordering the streams are 
of this character, as is also the country bordering on Lake Bisteneau. 

The red subsoil appears in spots, generally where the country becomes 
more rolling, and is often accompanied by rolled gravel, as well as by iron 
ore (limonite) concretions. This is more especially the case in the south- 
eastern portion, where tracts of hilly red lands occur, the ridges in the 
southerly portion having more or less long-leaf pine on their crests, while 
oak growth, sometimes intermingled with short-leaf pine, covers the hill- 
sides. At Brushy valley and northward, the red land feature is quite preva- 
lent, and excellent crops of cotton are made, both in the uplands and in the 
bottoms of the streams, which are here not so liable to overflow, and possess 
less of the pine-flat character. There is also a good deal of very sandy hill 
land, which washes very badly when turned out after cultivation. 

Not far from Brushy valley is a salt-lick flat, known as Rayburn's lick, 
where much salt was made during the war. It is underlaid by gypsum and 
(Cretaceous) limestone, from which good lime can be burned. The use of 
this on the soil of the region would be very beneficial. A similar lick is 
*' Kings," near the northeast comer of Red River parish, where the limestone 
ooottis ill eT«n greater abundance and of the best quality. A similar lime 



108 SOME LATE WOEDS . 

strata spot occurs in the northwestern portion of the parish, near Quay Post- 
office, on the head of Dugdemona bayou. 

About 100 square miles of this point is strictly lumber and grazing land, 
except in the creek land l)et\veen the hills which produce very tine crops. 
This belt of timber is equal to the best in the pine hill belt, which covers the 
large portion of Catahoula, Grand Rapides and Vernon. Bienville ranks 
high among the parishes. The iron miuerals are described in the report of 
Prof. Enderle. 

Communication with the New Orleans market is via landings on Red river, 
steamers on Lake Bisteneau, Jind by the Vicksbiirg, Shreveport and Pacific 
railroad, which runs through the northern portion of it. 

The town of Arcadia, on the Vicksburg. Shreveport and Pacific railroad, 
"has a population of over 1,600 souls, and is one of the best business points 
in North Louisiana. 

The parish site is Sparta, a small place, having a good business from the 
surrounding country. 

Gibbsland. — This place, one of the prettiest spots on the Vicksburg, 
Shreveport and Pacific, is a place of some consequence, owing to its saw 
mills and lumber trade. 

Ringgold. — This place is near Lake Bisteneau, and is surrounded by a 
fine country. 

The school and church advantages are good. The people are industrious, 
sociable, neighborly and prosperous. There is plenty of room in this parish 
for home-seekers and investors in land. 

KED RIVER PARISH. 

This parish lies in the fertile valley of Red river, the finest cotton pro- 
ducing region of the world. Its area is 386 square miles, of which 165 square 
miles are rich alluvium, or Red riVer bottom. There are 33,930 acres in cul- 
tivation, of which 19,200 acres are in cottou, .and 10,566 acres in corn. 

Coushatta, the parish site, situated on Red river, is a lively little town, 
where are located a number of staunch firms engaged in commercial pur- 
suits. Red river possesses many advantages to commend it to the attention 
of home-seekers. It is rich in valuable timber and has a soil, both alluvial 
and upland, of unsurpassed fertility. 

All the vegetables and fruit known to horticulturists, when properly cared 
fer, grow luxuriantly, and yield a ri<'li return for the labor bestowed upon 
their cultivation ; sweet and Irish ]> luiLoes both produce wonderful results. 
An average of one hundred and fifty bushels per acre of Irish potatoes, is not 
an uncommon yield, and as much as three hundred bushels to the acre of 
sweet potatoes have been produced. 

The average yield of cotton is one bale per acre, but it is not uncommon to 
obtain one and a half, and even two bnles per acre, under judicious cultivation. 
Corn is produced on an average of 30 to 40 bushels per acre, and in many in- 
stances, from 75 to 100 bushels have been gathered per acre. The common^ 
field pea planted with corn on the same ground, and at the same time will 
yield from 20 to 30 bushels, besides acting as a su]ierior fertilizer to the land 
planted. Sorghum grows luxuriantly and proves rich in saccharine proper- 
ties. Millet, oats, rye and clover yield large results. The native grasses and 
cattle food grow in great richness, and jiossess as much nutritive properties 
as any known food for grazing. 

Special attention is given to fine stock, and in the parish are several herds 
of Holstein, Jersey and other strains that will compare favorably with the 
best in the country. The remarks on schools, churches, society and health 
in the description of other parishes are applicable to Red river, where the 
people are prosperous, hospitable, generous, and will welcome heartily all 
those seeking new homes in one of the most attractive parishes in North 
Louisiana. 

OUACHITA PARISH. 

The parish of Ouachita is a rich and populous parish. It lies on both sides 
of the Ouachita river, and is largely of alluvial soil. Its entire area is 640 



ABOUT L0UISIA:N^A. 109 

square miles, of Avhich the alluAaal lands cover 340, the long-leaf pine hills 
ItIO, and the oak uplands 110 square miles. That portion of the parish lying 
east of the Ouachita, is almost entirely alluvial, and the preponderance of 
crojjs is grown there. The total cro]» of the parish is large, and is mostly 
cotton and corn, producing from one to two bales of cotton, and from 40 to 
75 bushels of corn to the acre, "when culti^•ated intelligently. Fruit vegeta- 
bles and all the grasses grow luxuriantly, and yield abundantly. Cattle and 
stock generally do well and pay hau<lsoiiie returns. Good health prevails 
throughout the parish. The church and school facilities are excellent. The 
tlml)er on the rJlmial laiuls is largely of the Avater oak, sycamore, c^'press 
and tii})ek). On the oak upland is found all kind of oak, and short-leaf pine 
grows to great extent. There is on ]3ayoii Cheniere (pronounced Shinney), a 
large cy]iress 1)rake. This bayou lies about seven miles west of Monroe be- 
tween hill binds, and is crossed by the Vicksburg, iShreveport and Pacific 
railroad. The timber of the western portion of the parish is being utilized 
and shipped by the railroad. There are also a great many saw mills in the 
southwestern ])ortion of this parish in the long-leaf pine region. This industry 
is opened i'ov the profitable investment of capital. 

Monroe is a beautiful and attractive little city of 2,500 population ; has a 
mayor and couTicil and all the facilities for the transaction of business pos- 
sessed by larger cities. West Aionroe lies on the west bank of the Ouachita. 
It is a business place of growing imjiortance. 

In this parish, near Calhoun, a sTiition on the Vicksburg, Shreveport and 
Pacific railway, is located the ex]n'riineut farm, whicli is intended to teach a 
scientific and better cultivation of aii lands in North. Louisiana. 



Til the "Pine Hills" or group of parislies, are to be placed Ver- 
non, Grant, Winn, Catahoula, E.ipides, St. Helena, Tangipahoa, 
Washing-ton and St. Tammany. To all intents, all the above, 
except liapides, Grant and Catahoula may be said to be entirely 
in the "Pije Hills" area. The Ecd River bottom giving consid- 
erable territory in Grant and Enpides parishes to the "Alluvial 
Lands", and the Tensas river and its affluents to Catahoula 
parish. Those " Pino Hills " parishes are widely separated, how- 
ever : St. Helena, Tangipahoa, Washington and St. Tammany 
being in the northeastern corner of the State, south and west of 
the State, of J\lississii)pi, while the others are in west and north- 
west Louisiana, 

We now proceed to extract from " Hon. Wra. Harris' late hand 
book of Immigration", descriptions of these i)arishes: 

VERNON. 

The parish of Vernon lies to the south of Sabine ajid to the west of Rapides, 
and extends westward to the river Sabine, the boundary of Texas. This par- 
ish is noted for the extensive forrests of long leaf pine with which it is cov- 
ered. Leesville is the county site. A pnuuiuent citizen writes: 

" The jiarish is nu>.-!tly au upland couuti-y, tlu)Ugli a gooil deal of lowland 
and cypress brakes are near the Sabine river. There are some prairie lan<ls 
a few miles northwest, mn't^li and south of Leesville which are very product- 
ive. The large Anacoco creek passes entirely through the western part of the 
parish, and affords a good deal of fine lands, besides some State lands well 



UO SOME LATE WORDS 

timbered. Numerons creeks run through that portion of the parish emptying 
into the Anacoco, and a large number pass through the eastern portion, which 
empty into the Calcasieu river. The lands are well adapted to cotton, corn, 
potatoes, rice and sugar cane. The total population is about 5000 mostly 
whites. 

" The farmers are doing well and have settled near the prairie lands, and 
along the creeks and rivers, where they have access to swamp and pine lands, 
though in many instances they have settled in the pine woods, where they 
cultivate excellent pinejlands and raise stock. The surface of the parish is, in 
general, rolling and in parts hilly, and the yellow pine grows in abundance. 

" The swamp lands are of two grades — a low stiff bottom land, and a high, 
sandy, swamp land, and all well timbered with oak, gum, hickory, magnolia, 
ash, and various other growths. The immense range for stock, and pure water 
in abundance, make it all one could desire who seeks to combine farming and 
stock raising. 

" The pine and cypress timber have attracted a good deal of attention, and 
a lively business is now going on (especially in pine), running logs down the 
Anacoco creek and Sabine river for the Orange timber market at remunera- 
tive prices. This trade is fast increasing. 

" Private lands are almost without a price, there being so much vacant 
public land well adapted to farming, upon which immigrants can settle with- 
out money or price, free from all fear of being disturbed ; for since the first 
settling of this country, there are but three or four cases where the claims, 
rights and interest of such settlers have been infringed upon by other parties 
entering the land. 

" The character of the people is law-abiding and hospitable — but few cases 
ever occur of a grave criminal nature. As proof of this, the police jury of the 
parish levied a tax of only $650 to defray the entire criminal expenses of the 
parish for the year 1880, deeming it ample for that purpose. 

•' Agriculture, cutting and running timber to market, and raising stock are 
the chief employments of the people, and as a general thing they are easy and 
prosperous. 

" The health of the parish is extremely good. 

" All the creeks farnish fish in abundance. Deer and turkeys are plentiful 
in all localities. A fine corn crop has been made this year, which can be had 
on reasonable terms, and the citizens of the parish are prepared to welcome 
all who come to look up homes." 

EAPIDES.* 

Red river flows diagonally across this parish from northwest to southeast, 
and its course through the parish, by the meanderings of the stream, is about 
sixty miles in length. The valley lies mainly on the west side, and has an 
average width of about ten miles. Through this alluvial territory, west of 
Eed river and nearly parallel with it, flow the Bayous Rapides, Robert and 
Boeuf, forming almost a continuous stream. The distance intervening be- 
tween the river and these bayous varies from two to about seven miles. In 
this section the plantations and farms which are almost contiguous, are 
located on the river and along the bayous, near which stand the residences 
of the planters and the quarters for laborers. Here, also, are located the 
sugar mills, cotton gins, and the other buildings of the farms ; and near the 
margins of these streams run the highways which traverse the country. 
Nearly the whole of the territory here described is above overflow, and every 
acre can be reclaimed and brought into cultivation. 

This section is by far the richest portion of the parish, and here are found 
many of the largest and most productive cotton and sugar plantations in the 
State^ It was originaDy covered with dense canebrakes, but these have been 
destroyed by the inroads of herds of stock, or have given place to the varied 
crops produced in this portion of Louisiana. 

The healthfulness of the parish is not excelled by any portion of the 

*This parish is placed in the '• Pine Hills " belt because the greater portion of its area is in 
that classification by Prof. Lockett. 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. Ill 

South, and is as nearly perfect as that of any country. Instances of 
longevity among the resident population are quite common. Foreigners be- 
come acclimated, and encounter exposure to all the vicissitudes of the 
weather with the same imi)uuity as the native population. Sunstrokes sel- 
dom or never occur, and no enervating effects of climate are ex]>erienced. 

Alexandria, the parish site, situated upon the west bank of Red river, 150 
miles above its mouth, is a town of considerable importance, and has a popu- 
lation of 2000. t It stands at the head of low water navigation on Red river, 
and is the business centre and chief shipping point of an immensely fertile 
region. It contains numerous churches and schools, and is rapidly improv- 
ing. Piueville, on the opposite side of the river, is the second town in the 
parish, and has about 600 inhabitants. A large business is done by the mer- 
chants of this place, and it ships a large quantity of cotton. Cheneyville, 
Kanoniie, Cotile and Lacomte are villages of some note. All of them are sit- 
uated in the valley section. 

The soils of this region may be classed under three heads : 

1. The alluvial is the most productive, and is equally adapted to the pro- 
duction of the great staples, cotton and sugar. 

2. The uplands and creek bottoms, on which tlie soil is generally a sandy 
loam, varying in depth, quite productive, easy of cultivation, and yielding 
oftentimes a bale of cotton and forty bushels of corn per acre. 

3. The pine lands, consisting of a thin soil with an under stratum of clay, 
susceptible of being highly enriched by manuring or by the application of 
the ordinary fertilizers. 

In the bottoms are found a variety of the oak, cypress, ash, hackberry, 
elm, gum, Cottonwood, beach, willow and many other kinds. On the hills, 
the yellow pine constitutes almost the entire growth. The saw-mills supply 
the home demand for lumber, and ship large quantities to points on the Red 
and Mississippi rivers. 

GEANT, WINN AND CATAHOULA PARISHES. 

These parishes lie together near the center of Louisiana, between parallels 
31° and 32°. 

Grant and Winn are located in the long leaf pine hills, and although Cata- 
houla is regarded as a pine woods parish, a large part of the parish is alluvial 
and some bluff and good uplands. All of these parishes are heavily 
timbered. 

The hill portion is a succession of elevations, interspersed with valh^vs and 
bottoms, and intersected by numerous creeks, some of which are fed by 
springs of pure water. The swamp is level alluvial land, intersected by 
numerous rivers and bayous and dotted with lakes, some of which are 
beautiful. 

In the swamp region are found nearly all the valuable varieties of oaks, 
also the ash, sweet gum, hackberry, maple and persimmon. In the hills, in 
addition to the varieties mentioned, there are poplar, sumac, sassafras, 
hickory, magnolia and vast forests of pine trees. The soil of the swamp is 
exceedingly fertile, but contains no minerals. That of the hills is generally 
a sandy loam, based upon red or yellow clay, with rocks suitable for building 
purposes, cropping out on the hillsides. The soil of the numerous valleys in 
the hill region is alluvion, and very productive. Coal has been found, and 
traces of iron ore ; also chalk, potter's clay and kaolin. That there is much 
sulphur is evinced by the numerous sulphur and salt springs, two of which, 
the white sulphur and the castor sulphur, are justly noted for their healiu"- 
properties. The mineral resources have not been developed. Large quanti- 
ties of marble have been discovered in Winn. 

All the products suitable to this latitude can be grown, but the following 
are best adapted for cultivation: Cotton, corn, peas, sugar cane, oats 
tobacco, rice, potatoes aiui melons. 

In the hills the average yield of corn, per acre, is about fifteen bushels ; 
of cotton, about 1000 pounds of seed cotton. In the swamp the average yield 

t Considerably greater no-w. 



112 SOME LATE WORDS 

of corn is about thirty five bushels per aere, and of cotton about one bale. 
Much of the laud will, -when jiroperly cultivated, produce from one to two 
bales of cotton to the acre, and from thirty to lifty bushels of corn. Corn was 
sold last year in the home market at from fifty to seventy-five ceuts per 
bushel.* 

These parishes are about as healthy as any other portion of central or 
northern Louisiana, and iu this respect compare favorably with any other 
portion of the Southwest. In the swamp, cistern water is used. In the hills, 
good wells and sprin<j;s are common. The temperature rarely ever rises above 
90° in summer, and seldom falls below freezin(>- point iu winter. The winters 
are generally mild enough to admit of good garilens. 

The population are mostly white. The negroes are quiet and peacable, but 
are uuthrifty, and not as iudustrious as the white laborers of the West and 
North. They are gradually leaving the parish for those sections where their 
race is numerically stronger than the whites. The majority of the wliites 
are from the old States of the Union. There are many Germans, Irish and 
Israelites here, who seem to be prosperous and contented. 

In the swamp, the public land belongs to the State, and is generally too 
much subject to overllow to be settled. In the hills, there are immense bodies 
of public hind belonging to the United States, subject to entry, t Private 
unimproved lands can l)e jiurcluiscd iu any sized tracts, aiul at from 50 cents 
to $8 per acre ; and improved lands can be bought at from $1 to $15 per acre. 
Land can be rented at from $1 50 to $3 50 per acre, but the usual manner of 
renting is " on the shares." 

Nearly all the religious denomiuations to be found in the L'nion are repre- 
sented here; but the vast majority of the religious people belong to the 
Methodist Episcopal Church South and the Missionarj^ Baptists. 

In the SAvamp, blacks are generally employed as laborers. These, though 
not as efficient as is desirai)le, are far more reliable now than they were soon 
after their emancipation. In the hills the laborers are white men from the 
older States of the Uni(ui. People want intelligent white laborers Irom other 
sections of the United States and from Europe — men wlio will come here for 
the i)urpose of establishing for themselves permanent homes and identifying 
themselves in interest with her citizens. Such will l»e heartily welcomed, 
will find employment at remunerative wages, and will be able to work all 
the year in the field with safety, the old error, inculcated by the enemies of 
the South, that ouly black men can do this having l>eeu exploded by observa- 
tion and experiment since the war. 

Laborers are offered from $6 to $16 per mouth, with rations, and mechanics 
from .$2 to $3 a day. Cropping on shares is very generally practiced. In 
some instances, the renter agrees to give one bale of cotton for the rent of 
eight or ten acres of land. In others, the laborer furnishes his own provi- 
sions and the labor, and gets oue-half the prodiu;e, the land and everything 
else being furnished by the landlord, who gets the other half. In others the 
landlord furnishes everything, but the labor, and receives three-fourths of 
the crop. 

There is some immigration, mostly from Mississippi, Alabama and Texas. 
No efforts have been nuide to secure immigrants. 

The section throughout is well a<lapted to stock raising. The soil every- 
where is covered with succulent weeds, bushes, vines and nutritious grasses, 
that afford abundant food for cattle, sheep, goats and horses. The numerous 
oak, pine and beech trees, and muscadine vines produce abundant mast for 
hogs. Horses are rarely fed, except when in use. and other kinds of stock 
are reared for market wifhunt feeding. Nearly every farmer is engaged, to 
some extent, in stock raising, and there are many herds of cattle. Stock 
cattle are valued at .flO per head, sheep at from $1 50 to $2 per head, and 
hogs from fifty cents to |1. Tlie profit of stock raising is simply enormous; 
in some instances more than .50 per cent has been realized. 

*Tliis refers to a peiiod several years back. 
tLet the reader not count on that now. 



ABOUT LOCriSIA:N^A. 113 

Little has been accomplished in the direction of mannfactnriusc ; hut in the 
hill region there are many creeks having water-power sufficient to propel saw 
and grist mills and cotton gins, and two or three having sutlficient power to 
run cotton and wool factories. There are saw and grist mills and gins run by 
water, and several propelled by steam — all of which are doing a good 
business. 

New Orleans is the best market. Produce is shipped by steamers on the 
Ouachita, Tensas, Little, Black and Red rivers, and reaches New Orleans in 
one or two days. 

Apples, pears, plums, strawberries and grapes, are the fruits most suitable 
for cultivation. Blackberries, dewberries, mulberries, muscadines and other 
fruits are found everywhere growing wild and in great abundance. Fruit 
growing, as a business, has not been engaged in extensively. 

Peas, beans, cabbages, radishes, squashes, okra, lettuce, onions, beets and 
all other vegetables suitable to the South, can be grown in abundance and 
profitably. 

Silk culture has never been engaged in, but from the facts that the climate 
is suitable, that the mulberry and other growths upon which the silkworm 
feeds, flourish here, and that this is the habitat of caterpillars similar in 
nature to the silkworm, it is believed that, as an industry, silk culture could 
be made profitable. 

This is empathically a honey making country. Thousands of swarms of 
wild bees are found yearly in the forests, and at nearly cA'ery farmhouse may 
be seen hives in which these busy little creatures are depositing their valued 
treasures. 

The whole country, being covered with nutritious growths, milk, butter 
and cheese can be produced at little cost. All kinds of poultry are easily 
raised. 

Oak bark of the best kinds, and other tanning materials being plentiful, 
and hides abundant and cheap, tanning could be engaged in prolitably. Saw 
mills, lumbering, cotton, wool and wagon factories could be made profitably. 

The many rivers, creeks, bayous and beautiful lakes are in the fall, winter 
and early spring the resort of thousands of geese, brants and ducks, and at 
all times are teeming with edible fish, such as trout, bass, perch, bream, cat, 
drum and bulfalo. These are easily caught with lead and line, and contri- 
bute both to the pleasure and ])rofit of the people. In the forests are thous- 
ands of deer, squirrels, rabbits and other game. 

An industrious man can cultivate about 1.5 acres in cotton, corn, peas and 
vegetables, on which he can produce from eight to ten bales of cotton, from 
150 to 300 bushels of corn, and potatoes and vegetables for family consump- 
tion ; and when we add to this the profits of his cattle, hogs and horses that 
subsist on the range, in most places, the whole year, it is plainly to bo seen 
that the profits of farm labor are simply extraordinary, when compared with 
that of the States of Europe or the older States of the Union. The truth is, 
there is probably no country where a living can be made with less exertion, 
and the exemption which this aft'ords from the great law of labor, has really 
injured our people by paralyzing their energy. 

Previous to the late war, rich swamp lands lying principally along the 
Ouachita, Black, Tensas and Little rivers, and on Sicily Island, had been 
purchased by wealthy slave owners, were held by thein in large bodies, and 
could not be bought for less than from .$25 to .$75 per acre. Large bodies of 
these lands had been brought into cultivation, costly improvements had been 
erected upon them, and they were the seats of prosperity, wealth and luxury, 
and in many instances of intelligence and refinement. The hill region was 
also gradually settling with prosperous and independent small farmers. The 
long and bloody war, during which this was the theatre of yiredatoi-y strife, 
and the unhappy and unwise administration of the reconstruction laws, de- 
vastated the country, drove many of its best citizens away, impoverished 
those that remained, and repelled immigration. 



114 SOME LATE WORDS 

ST. HELENA, TANGHPAHOA, WASHINGTON AND ST. TAMMANY 

PARISHES. 

These four parishes lie to the east of East Feliciana and Livingston, and are 
bounded on the north and east by the State of Mississippi. Pearl river marks 
their extreme eastern boundary. 

These parislies are located in the great long-leaf pine region, and their 
topography and general characteristics are similar. 

The jiopulatiou of this section are farmers rather than planters. They are 
an independent, l^ard-handed people, Avho do their own work and make their 
own crops, generally without the aid of a commission merchant. They grow 
everything necessary for home comforts except tea and cotfee. 

Their farms are generally along the creek .ind river bottoms, and their 
flocks and herds run at large in the pine woods. This is essentially a white 
man's country. 

There is good and sufficient railroad, river and lake transportation. The 
Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad intersects Tangipahoa from 
north to south, and the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad passes 
through the eastern borders of St. Tammany.* 

Good water is found in abundance everywhere — all clear, cool and pleasant 
to the taste. In the vicinity of Covington, St. Tammany parish, are many 
fine mineral wells and springs. The Abita springs, three miles from Coving- 
ton, are the resort of a large and constantly increasing number of invalids, 
and many of the wells in Covington have acquired quite a reputation by 
their numerous cures. 

The thermometer rarely reaches 88° in the summer, or falls below 40° in 
winter. The nights are cool, and the air seems to possess remarkable cura- 
tive powers in all diseases of the lungs and throat. A well-authenticated 
case of sunstroke has never been known in the pine woods. 

The entire section is heavily timbered. Pearl river and Bogue Chitto 
forming the eastern boundary, have bottom lands along their banks varying 
from one to three miles in depth. The other numerous streams have but a 
narrow skirt only a few hundred yards in width. Tangipahoa, Bonfouca, 
Bayou Liberty, Bayou Lacombe, Tchefuncta, Abita, Pontchatoula and Bogue 
Falls are all uaA'igable streams, some of them being navigated for twenty 
miles above their mouths. The entire region is filled with streams of clear, 
cold water, and there is scarcely a spot where fine well water cannot be 
foxmd at a short distance from the surface. 

With the exception of the creek and river bottoms, and the swamp above 
Lake Poutchartrain, the surface is covered with a heavy and valuable growth 
of pine. Numerous creeks attbrd a cheap and easy mode of carrying the logs, 
wood, charcoal, tar and other products of this forest, to the New Orleans 
markets. In the bottoms of the creeks and rivers, magnolia, beech, gum, 
oak, hickory, ash, cyi^ress, dogwood and holly abound. Along the lake coast 
are valuable tracts of live oaks. lu the bottoms of Pearl river and Bogue 
Chitto, vast quantities of white oak timber are found. 

The bottom land is productive, and similar to that lying along all the 
small creeks and bayous of the State. The pine lands generally have a sur- 
face soil of sandy loam, varying from six to twelve inches in depth, under 
which is found a stiif clay, imiiervious to water. The clay is of a fine quality 
for making brick. A very fine article of pottery has also been made from it. 

Sand suitable for the manufacture of glass is found in large qiTantities. 

Nearly all the religious denomination are well rej^resented, the Catholics, 
Methodists and Baptists. Every ward has either a public or private school — 
sometimes both. 

Around the towns, colored labor is generally employed. Most of the farm- 
ing is done by the white men, who generally own the land. Industrious 
white or colored men can always find eniployment at about .$15 per month 
with board. If they prefer to work the crop on shares, they get one-quarter, 
farmer furnishing everything. 

*GoTuigtoii is now coan«ot«d by railroad with that raihvad. 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 115 

The supply of mechanics is equal to the demand. But there is a ereat de- 
mand for reliable labor, either white or colored. White men, both natire 
born and foreign, can, and do, work all the year in the field with safety. 

Both land and living are so cheap that there is no place where the immi- 
grant can make a start on less money. Immigrants from the North or any 
portion of Europe would be eagerly welcomed. Suitable land can be ob- 
tained from the Government under the homestead laws, t and the timber for 
fences and buildings will be found on the land. 

Neither cattle nor sheep are fed during the entire year. Both are profit- 
able, but sheep pay far better than cattle. At present, the business of stock 
raising is very badly conducted. Many stock owners do not see their stock 
for months at a time. No herders are ever in charge of the sheep, and they 
are turned adrift at the mercy of hogs, dogs and buzzards. Consequently 
the losses are heavy, and yet with all these drawbacks the business is very 
profitable. There are no burrs to injure the wool, and they do not seem to 
suff'er firom any diseases. The herds of cattle vary from forty to five hundred 
head in number, and sheep from one hundred to one thousand. 

Cattle yield 25 per cent profit ; sheep from 45 to 50 per cent, according to 
the amount of attention paid to them. 

The streams afford plenty of water power for manufacturing, but there are 
no manufactories. The water is remarkably clear and pure, and many fine 
locations could be found for paper manufactories . 

New Orleans is the nearest and best market. It is reached in a few hours 
by rail, steamboat or schooner. 

Figs, pomegranates, peaches, apples, pears, plums, cherries, grapes, pecans, 
and wabiuts grow everywhere. Strawberries are profitable. Along the lake 
coast the orange thrives very well, and a good many orchards have been re- 
cently planted. Several varieties of the grape have proved very profitable, 
and some German and French citizens have commenced making wine on a 
small scale. 

All kinds of vegetables grow well. The health of the pine woods is yearly 
attracting large numbers of people to the towns. Tnis affords a ready 
market for all the vegetables and fruits that can be raised by those engaged 
in this business. The supply is not near equal to the demand, t 

The nearness of the New Orleans market and the cheapness of transporta- 
tion, render this section a fine location for almost any industry. 

When disease prevailed to an alarming extent among the silkworms ,of 
Italy, the government of that country sought to renew the stock of worms 
by importing eggs from other countries. For this purpose a premium was 
offered for the finest eggs. Mr. John Eocchi carried oft' this premiimi, with 
eggs raised at his place in Covington. All varieties of the mulberry flourish 
with great vigor, and there is no doubt but silk could be produced with profit. 

Bees succeed well and produce fine honey. 

The fine grass range makes the production of milk and butter very profit- 
able. Poultry require but little feed or care. 

All the bayous and rivers are well stocked with every variety of perch, 
black bass, catfish, buffalo, rockfish and suckers. In Lake Pontchartrain, 
eheephead, red fish, croakers, flounders and other varieties of salt water fish 
are found. 

Game is abundant. Deer, turkeys, squirrels and quail, ducks woodcocks 
and snipe. 

An industrious man can cultivate from fifteen to twenty acres in mixed crops, 
say four in cane, four in cotton, ten in com, two and a half in sweet pota- 
toes*^. Besides these crops he can cultivate several acres in red oats, they be- 
ing planted in the fall and reaped in June. In addition to this work, he can 
attend to a small stock of sheep and cattle. A committee of citizens send 
the following endorsement of these parishes : 

"Population mostly white ; nationalities, American and mixtures from the 
different countries of Europe. We have English, Scotch, German, Swedes, 

tMuch ha8 been disposed of since then. 

X This language ia not applicable to th« baslnesa now. 



116 SOME LATE WOKDS 

French and Irish. The general character of our inhabitants will compare 
favorably with the best in the United States. 

To the north are rolling piuey-woods, interspersed with nnmerons rivers, 
creeks and branches. The principal growth is pine, mostly long leaf yellow, 
oaks of several varieties, gum, poplar, magnolia, beech, bass-wood, maple, 
sumac, hickory, dogwood, etc., on the water courses, birch, elm, cherry, etc., 
a small quantity of cypress in the small river swamps. 

The lands on the river banks, from a quarter to a mile wide, are nearly all 
cultivable. Our rivers and creeks are subject to overllow from heavy rains 
in the spring and late in the fall, for a few days only. Tlie uplands are in 
general sandy, with good clay sub-soil. The branch, creek and river Hats are 
the cream of the uplands, washed oft" by the rains ; they are a dark, sandy 
loam, with good clay sub-soil 

There are many hue mill sites, affording sufficient water power for fac- 
tories and macliiiiery. A number of saw mills and cotton gins arejuow run 
by them. The quality of our soil is generally productive. 

No minerals developed as yet. Small quantities of iron ore can be seen in 
many places. 

We can grow almost any kind of crops, including many from the tropics. 
Cotton is cultivated by the majority of farmers as the money crop. On land 
not fertilized, the average yield is from one-half to three-i|uarter bales of 
cotton per acre. Land well fertilized and cultivated Avill yield, with favor- 
able season, one bale weighing from 400 to 500 pounds. 

The average crop of corn on lands not fertilized is from ten to fifteen 
bushels. By fertilization, some farmers have made from forty to fifty bushels 
per acre, worth at home from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel. 

Sweet potatoes, cultivated for home use, are a profitable crop, yield from 
100 to 300 bushels per acre, worth from twenty-five to fifty cents per bushel 
at home. Irish potatoes yield about the same. We can raise two crops a 
year. 

Oats yield about the same as corn. Sugar cane is generaHy cultivated in 
small patches. Little portable mills and copjjer evaporating pans are re- 
sorted to in the mannfixcture of syrup. 

Parties having mill and fixtures go from place to place in the fall, and 
grind on shares, usually one-sixth for use of mill aiid man to tend it. When 
the miller furnishes team and help the toll ranges from one-fourth to one- 
third. 

We can make, with very little work, one hogshead of sugar and four bar- 
rels of molasses per acre. 

Sorghum cane i)roduces well, and makes an excellent feed for raising hogs. 
It will make from 60 to 100 gallons jier acre, worth 40 and 50 cents per 
gallon. It is not cultivated much. 

Rice is cultivated with but little work on new-ground lands. 

Broom corn will do splendidly here. 

Hops do well. 

Tobacco will do as well here as anywhere. Three cuttings a year can be 
obtained. 

Crab grass and pea hay are generally cut and saved for stock here. 

Pea vines plowed in just as the pea turns to ripen is the best and cheapest 
fertilizer we can use, and by actual test, it will redeem barren lands in three 
years to their primitive state of fertility. 

Almost every farmer has some fruit trees, generally peaches. The climate 
and soil are well adapted to the culture of a large variety of fruits, — quinces, 
pomegranates, peaches, pears, some few varieties of apple, ])lums of every 
variety do well, figs never fail, some few varieties of grapes do exceedingly 
well ; watermelons, exceedingly fine, often weighing from 40 to 50 j)ounds ; 
pumpkins and kershaws are excellent. 

Jute will do well by actual test. 

Our climate is delightful — the doctors often say distressingly healthy. 

Atmosphere pure and salubrious at all times. We have no epidemics in 
our parish. Our mortality list will compare favorably with any other sec- 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 117 

tion of the United States. We are miicli less liable to sunstroke than in the 
State of New York ; in fact, sunstroke is hardly known here. 

Otir drinking water is as good as anywhere in the world ; it is obtained 
from numerous bold crystal springs, wells and cisterns. 

Lands of all kinds can be bought, woodland and improved lands — prices 
varying from $1 to $10 per acre, according to locality and improvements. 
Terms can be made in most cases to suit jiurchaser. Thousands of acres of 
unsurpassed saw-mill timber can be had at the Government price, per acre, 
$1 25, or even less. 

The usual contract for labor is, for the farmer to furnish the land, teams, 
feed and implements necessary to cultivate and gather the crop, and give 
one-half of all the crops raised. 

When rations are furnished, the laborer gets one-third of the crop. When 
wages are given, the range is from |ilO to |15 per month, with usual rations. 
When parties rent, they pay according to value of land, condition offences 
and iAprovemeuts, etc.; easy terms can l)e made. 

This is a great hog country. They generally grow fat in the woods. 

From the observation of some of our oldest settlers, every third year the 
beech trees are ladened with fruit. Oak and pine masts are generally plenti- 
ful. 

The natural facility and ease of production, of forage of every kind, with 
mildness of climate and unlimited wild pasture, makes this naturally a fine 
stock country. Horses, mules, cattle, sheep, goats and hogs can be raised 
here with as much profit as anywhere. 

The average jirice of our native sheep is $1 50 per head; beef cattle, year- 
lings at home, from |5 to Ig6 per head ; milch cows from .$15 to |20 per head. 

The cost of raising is comparatively nothing, as in this climate stock can 
get along without wintering. In the months of February and March they 
need some little attention. Hence, stock raising with us is nearly all profit. 
The manure alone will pay for the attention given to stock. Milk, butter, 
hides and wool are a great source of profit. 

Lumber sells at the mills from $8 to $10 per .1000 feet. 

We have good home markets in our numerous country and village stores 
for everything we raise. 

The woods proverbially are a natural flower garden the year round, and 
every variety of tame, native or imported plants that can be cultivated in 
the United States, will do well here — but few needing any winter protection. 

W^e have turkeys, rabbits, squirrels, deer, opossums, coons, ducks, wood- 
cock, snipe, quails, etc. 

We have a fair supply in our streams, including perch, trout, catfish, buf- 
falo, caspagou, soft-shell turtles and hard-shells of several varities. 

We have a variety of native song-birds — the American canary, lark and 
mocking-bird, the imitator of all birds, filling the air with its delightful 
warble day and night; the oriole, wren, humming-bird, blue-jay, thrush, 
blue, red and blackbird, and many others of varigated colors. 

We invite honest, well meaning, white immigrants from all quarters of the 
glolje. They can find employment here at remunerative wages, and can 
work all the year round in the fields with perfect safety. 

Capitalists and manufacturers are needed to develop the incalculable re- 
sources of our country. Good mechanics get fair wages. 

We have had but little immigration as yet ; we have a few from other States 
in the Union, a few from Sweden, Germany, England, France and Ireland. 

It would be gross disparagement of these parishes did we not 
chronicle some of the changes that have taken place in parts of 
the last area, since Col. Harris wrote the above. In general 
terms, we have averted to it in the former part of this pamphlet, 
where we alluded to the developement that has taken place in 
Louisiana within the last two or three years. For 'this, the Illi- 



DL18 SOME LATE WOEDS 

I - 

noil Central Railroad deserves especial commendation. Their 
agents^ assisted by numerous co-workers in their own behalf, 
have advertised the area in question with such effect, that sev 
eral new towns have been started, and several old ones have de 
veloped to a remarkable degree. From at or near the State line, 
on the Southern branch of the Illinois Central Railroad (South 
ern branch), as far South as Pontchatoula (on the same railroad) 
there is hardly a locality in the United States where the raising 
of small fruits is in greater rapidity of development. This is 
mainly confined to strawberries just yet, but raspberries have 
been successfully tried; and there is a tendency to the culture 
of peach and pear. In strawberry culture alone, hundreds are 
engaged ; and there are several thousand acres " set " in that 
fruit. Vegetable raising is also progressing finely. The pro- 
duce is raised early for the markets of Chicago, St. Louis and 
other Western cities. 

Tangipahoa, Areola, Amite, Independence, Hammond and 
Pontchatoula are older places that have been greatly resusci- 
tated or developed; while Kentwood, Roseland, Happy Woods 
(and perhaps other towns, for they spring up so fast that one 
can hardly keep pace with their birth) are new towns of hardly 
a year old. ^ 

And this progressiveness is not confined to the railroad. On 
either side, for quite a distance, the wave of immigration has 
spread, and on the Mississippi Valley Railroad, west, fruit cul- 
ture and vegetable raising are asserting themselves ; and in St. 
Tammany parish, near Covington, there are marked interest and 
good development. 

I Of course, values of lands have greatly enhanced ; and it 
would be idle to undertake to state prices. Home-seekers must 
make their own investigations in this regard. 



ABOUT LOUISIAKA. 119 

The following parishes (except East Feliciana), are placed by 
Prof. Lockett in the category of " Bluff Lauds." The descrip- 
tions are from a pamphlet issued by the late Commissioner of 
Immigration, Hon. Wm. H. Harris : 

WEST OAKROLL, RICHLAND AND FRANKLIN. 

These parishes are situated in the northeastern part of the State, between 
the Mississippi and Ouachita rivers. 

The formation of their lands are identical. The larger part being bluff 
lands, •vrhile the lands bordering Bayou Macon on the east, and Bceuf river 
on the west, are alluvial. 

The Shreveport and Pacific Railroad intersects Richland parish, and its 
principal towns are Delhi and Rayville, containing from two hundred to 
three hundred inhabitants, witli schools, churches and all the accessories of 
civilization required by an intelligent and refined community. 

These parishes are well watered in every part. The principal streams are 
Bayous Bceuf and Macon, which are navigable in winter and spring by large 
steamboats, affording ample transportation to market for all the products. 

The lands bordering the bayous are as good as any in the State, the actual 
yield, according to the census report, being four-fifths of a bale of cotton. 
While this is the average yield of the entire parish, the yield of plantations 
on the bayous in the alluvial lands often reaches one and a half bales of cotton 
per acre and fifty bushels of corn. 

Only a small proportion of these lands is under cultivation, although there 
is not an acre of barren land in its limits. All the land not under cultivation 
is covered with a heavy growth of magnificent timber, among which is found 
the oak, ash, elm, gum, black walnut, beech, magnolia, and other growths of 
alluvial and bluff formations. ♦ 

The principal productions are cotton, corn and sweet potatoes; oats, rye, 
millet and many of the domestic grasses grow well. 

Floyd is the county site of West Carroll, and Winnsboro of Franklin 
parish. 

West Carroll lies between Bayous Macon and Bceuf, but includes only a 
narrow belt of alluvium lying along these streams, the main body being an 
npland ridge similar to the Bastrop hills, constituting the most northerly 
portion of the upland peninsula, which, farther south, forms part of the par- 
ishes of Richland and Franklin, under the general designation of "Bayou 
Macon Hills." This ridge rises rather abruptly from the bottom plain of the 
Bayou Macon to the height of twenty feet. It is composed of a sandy, yellow 
loam, and its eastern portion is timbered with short leaf pine. In the western, 
the post and black-jack oaks predominate over the pine. The westward 
slope, towards Bayou Bceuf, is gentle, and the land improves as we descend ; 
the yellow loam subsoil being apparent for some distance into the Bceuf 
alluvial plain. The soil of the latter is highly productive. 

West Carroll is bounded on the north by the State of Arkansas. The 
county site is Floyd. 

The topographical formation of Richland and Franklin is the same. Allu- 
vial and bluff lands. 

These three parishes extend southward £rom the Arkansas line, a distance 
of 90 miles, to the Ouachita river. 

The general face of Richland parish is level, with an occasional elevation 
of a narrow strip of land eight or ten feet above the general surface. In the 
southwestern part, there is a small portion that is prairie. The bottom or 
swamp lands lie upon the streams and are regarded as the most productive, 
producing one to one and a half bales of cotton per acre in good seasons, and 
corn and other products in proportion. The kinds of timber in abundance 
are oak, gum, hickory, pine, ash, dogwood, birch. Nearly every speoiea of 
tree found in the South is here. 

The soil of the parish is well adapted to the growth of all vegetables and 



120 SOME LATE WOEDS 

plants. There are as fine vegetables produced for home consumption as can 
be grown iu any portion of the Union with little labor. Well water is found 
by digging from fifteen to twenty-five feet. It is pure freestone or mixed 
with lime, iron, copperas, alum. 

There can be bought almost any description of land here that is to be 
fouud anywhere in the State, and as productive. From the rich, loose, mel- 
low ridges, easily cultivated and paying handsome returns, to the rich 
bottom and alluvial soil, which is inexhaustible, where immense crops of 
corn, cotton, sorghum and potatoes are produced in fabulous quantities. The 
rich hammock lauds only await the axe and spade to lay bare the untold 
productiveuess of these hitherto neglected mines of wealth. The pine lauds 
are easily brought iuto cultivation and pay large dividends. This soil is 
more silicious than any other to be found, and quite durable, lasting and 
producing fine crops for fifteen or twenty years without manure. 

Many large landholders have both improved and irnimproved lands that 
they would disjioso of readily; imjiroved from $5 to |15, unimproved from $1 
to $5 per acre. 

Fruits and vegetables of all kinds which grow in the temperate zone are 
plentiful at all seasons. 

The labor upon large plantations is generally performed by negroes. The 
share system geuerally prevails, but when wages are given they range from 
$12 to $15 per month. 

Many white men cultivate small farms, with their own families, with an 
occasional hired hand. They are almost universally prosperous and out of 
debt, and are really the most independent class of people, raising their sup- 
plies at home. 

The health of this section will compare favorably with that of other por- 
tions of the South, and the climate is not subject to violent extremes of heat 
and cold. Foreigners and immigrants from other States already here have 
found no difficulty in field work at all seasons. The j)eople desire immigra- 
tion and will welcome all classes and creeds. 

All forms of religion are tolerated and encouraged, and ministers of the 
gospel are highly respected. 

Educational facilities are as good as any in the State. Public schools are 
kept oiien three to five months iu the year. In most instances when the 
public schools close, private schools are continued during the remainder of 
the year. 

Market facilities are good. On the north, Vicksburg, Shreveport and 
Pacific Eailroad, east, Bayou Macon, on the south and west, the Tensas river 
and Ouiichita river. 

Churches, schools and other evidences of refinement and civilization are 
seen throughout the entire section. 

' Comparatively a snu^ll portion of these lands are cultivated, The section 
offers a grand field for capital and innnigration, both of which would be 
welcomed by a kind, generous and hospitable people. 

LIVINGSTON PARISH. 

The formation of the blufii" lands in this parish is similar to that of East 
Baton Rouge. 

Most of the cultivated lazid lies along the Amite. Tickfaw and Bayoii Bar- 
bary, Gray's creek and the Colyell. Its forests, which cover the largest 
division of its area, still abound in timber of gveiit marketable value. In the 
eastern division, on the water-shed drainiui;- into the rickfaw, the forests, 
although groAving magnolia, beech, oak, gum and hickory in large quantities, 
are still inte,rs])erscd with a considerable gr<i\\tii of pine. In the western 
division, or on the water-shed draining into the Auiite river and Lake 
Maurc])as, ])iue is rare, and magnolia, oak, beech, gum. hickory and cypress 
form the staple of forest growth. Along the margin of the lake there are 
some very productive farms under cultivation ; so. also, on Bayou Barbary 
and its three prongs, on all of which soil of great nat'ujil fertility nmy be had 
in abundance at (ioverument prices, or at rates almost as cheap from the 
proprietors. 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 121 

Throui^liont the soutlnvcstern division, the productive wealtli of the parish 
is derived chielly from the forests and swamps, and this is tlie case as hifjli up 
as Port Vincent. The parisli on the east extends into tlie long leaf pine tlats. 

The Hon. H. Skipwith writes to the New Orleans Times-Democrat : 

"A few miles below Port Vincent, seated along the margin of the river 
Amite, is a hamlet universally styled ' the French settlement.' A cote 
joyeuse, on which many descendants of emu/res from La Belle France enact 
their happy role, composed of almost equal parts of Avork and fun, for so 
wags the world in the French settlement. Each habifavt has his cane, corn, 
oats, rice and potato patch, occasionally, too, h patch of cotton, and each in 
almost equal proportions, (furthermore no ^ grande home dv. province^ in the 
French settlement), has his llock of goats and sheep, his hogs and his herd of 
cattle. Those enumerated are all behind him ; in front he has as much good 
cypress timber as he can cut and float in the'next half century. Altogether, 
with the combined product of his pastures, of his flocks and herds, and of his 
raids upon the c;yT'^'6*'*' forests in front of him, I should say that the habitues 
of the French settlement can well afford to spend, aii they do, every Satur- 
day night in fiddling and dancing, and to enliven the interval between 
dances with a bottle or two of claret. It is an isolated colony, and there is 
no better community in the world. Some of their peculiar characteristics 
grow, perhaps, out of their isolation, viz; indifference about the great events 
which are stirrini;' other parts of the world, dislike of anything which smacks 
of change, particularly in the matter of a reformation of religions. Such a 
community, while reliable to make a resolute defense of its home interests, 
would probably contribute a scant quota to an army in the field. But with 
all its peculiarities, it is a happy, virtuous, law-abiding community. If it 
contributes not mucli to the revenues of the commonwealth, it costs the com- 
monwealth nothing to enforce the public justice against its offenders, for it 
lias none." 

From Lake Maurepas up the Amite, as high as Port Vincent, there are 
lands in large bodies which in natural strength of soil are surpassed only by 
the alluvial lands of the Mississippi valley — lands which in choice spots will 
produce two hogsheads of sugar, 2,500 pounds of seed cotton, 35 barrels of 
corn and 50 bushels of rice to the acre. The same estimate of the capacity of 
the soil will apply to the fresh, well-drained lands of Port Vincent, up to the 
northern boundary of the parish ; such lands are still to be found in large 
bodies along the Amite and in the valleys of Gray's creek and the Colyell. 
Much of the land, however, whicli is now cultivated, has been in cultivation 
for many years, and its capacity has been much reduced by years of neglect 
and maltreatment. 

EAST AND WEST FELICIANA PARISHES.* 

These parishes are bounded on the north by the State of Mississippi, on the 
31° parallel of latitude. West Feliciana lies along the east bank of the 
Mississippi river and contiguous to East Feliciana on the east. A narrow 
strip of land along the Mississippi river is alluvial, but the remainder of the 
parish is composed of bluff and good uplands, with the exception of a strij) of 
East Feliciana, which extends into the long-leaf pine region on the east. 

There is, perhaps, no section of the United States that offers greater in- 
ducements to the settler than these parishes. Many of the negroes have left 
the high, healthy table lands for the alluvial bottoms, and there are numy 
thousands of acres of old turned out fields, that have grown up in wild 
grasses. These afford pasturage to cattle, sheep and hogs, which increase 
and multiply with very little care. 

Lands may be bought, in small or large tracts, from $1 to $5 per acre. A 
citizen of this section writes : 

No part of Louisiana is favored with a more complete system of natural 
drainage, and away np among the Tunica hills there are landscapes as bold 
and imposing in their wild grandeur as the average of Switzerland scenery. 

* Eaat Frfidana is placed by Lockett in the category of the " Good Uplands ;" but, as it is 
not considered wise to dissociate it from Col. Harris' description, we give description here. 



122 SOME LATE WOEDS 

These Tunica hills, besides their romantic beauty, possess a quality of soil as 
attractive to the eye of a practical farmer (they being knobs founded upon 
an inexhaustible limestone base) as the beautiful landscapes are to the eye of 
the transient sketcher ; but even here the natural capacity of the soil, which 
is fully equal to one and a half hogsheads of sugar, to one and a half bales of 
cotton and to forty barrels of corn to the acre, is partially obscured by negli- 
gent or by inadequate cultivation. 

Notwithstanding the admitted adaptability of the Tunica hills to the culti- 
vation of the old style standards of cane, cotton and corn, the immigrant, 
Avhen he comes, may — and I -think he will — endeavor to apply the virtues 
of the limestone to orchards and vineyards, if thereby a more jirofitable in 
dustry can be evoked. 

The health of this section is as good as that of any part of the United 
States. The people are intelligent, educated, relined and hospitable. 
Public and private schools and churches of all denominations are located in 
every neighborhood. Transportation facilities are afforded by the Mississippi 
river, and by the St. Francisville, Clinton and Port Hudson and Mississippi 
Valley Railroads. The county sites are St. Francisville and Clinton, both 
beautiful country towns, noted for the refinement and cultivation of the 
people. » 

li'red. Buto, an immigrant from Dautzig, West Prussia, is at the head of a 
prosperous German settlement near Clinton, East Feliciana parish. 

EAST BATON ROUGE. 

East Baton Rouge fronts the river one hundred and thirty miles above 
New Orleans. 

The city of Baton Rouge is the parish site and the capital of the State. It 
is built on the extreme southern point of bluff land that touches the Missis- 
sippi river and which extends south from the Alleghany mountains. 

The city of Baton Rouge was incorporated in 1820, and has a population of 
8,000 inhabitants. The parish was organized in 1811, and has now about 
21,000 inhabitants.* 

The lands along the Mississippi river are alluvial, of which about one- 
third are in cultivation, the remainder being pasturage and woodland. The 
timber found here is principally cypress, gum, oak and many small varieties 
of trees. The other portion of the parish is called the highlands, that is, 
land not subject to inundation by the Mi.ssiis.si]>pi river. The forest growth 
is of great variety, comprising all kinds of oak, gum, magnolia, poplar and 
beech, interspersed with much uudergroA\ th. The soil is as various as the 
forest growth, ranging from poor to very fertile ; but under the energetic 
manipulation of the progressive farmer, will yield a rich reward to the hus- 
bandman. 

Upon these lands all the staple crops are cultivated successfully, viz : 
cotton, cane, corn, potatoes, etc. The yield of cotton is one-half bale per 
acre, to one and a half bales. The yield of cane is one hogshead of sugar, to 
three hogsheads per acre. The average per acre of corn is twenty bushels to 
forty. So with all productions of the soil, the maximum amount is made 
according to the quantity of fertilizer and the quality of the brain used. 
The city of Baton Roiige affords a very limited market for the products of the 
parish, the principal market being New Orleans and the Western cities. 

There are many small streams passing through and bordering on the par- 
ish, which afford sulficient drainage to all its lands. They are the Amite, 
Coraite, Manchac, Bayou Fountain, Ward's creek, Montesano, White's bayou, 
Redwood, Blackwate.r, Sandy creek and many other minor water courses. 
In these streams are to be found many kinds of fish and water-fowl. 

The health of the parish has always been regarded good. The military 
post located at Baton Rouge shows the best health record of any post in the 
Southwest. The thermometer rarely rises above 90°, or falls below 20° F., 
and when either extreme is reached, it lasts but a few days. The leading 
nationalities of the world are represented in our population. The English, 

*Tlii8 estimate was made several years ago. 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 123 

French and German languages being spoken principally — the English being 
the language in which business is transacted. The general character of the 
people is quiet and industrious, and they would give a hearty welcome to all 
immigrants who are likewise disposed. 
There is land for sale and rent. In all cases they are reasonable. 

The principal religious denominations of this parish are the Catholic, 
Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Baptist and Israelite. All have 
places of worship in the town, and some in the various neighborhoods in the 
parish. Educational facilities are very good. The State University and 
Mechanical and Industrial colleges are located at Baton Rouge, under the 
direction of an able corps of professors, where all the branches of a polite 
and practical education can be acquired at a small cost, besides other male 
and female seminaries quite adequate to the wants of the community. Pub- 
lic schools are in a progressive condition and are supplemented in every 
neighborhood by private schools. In addition to this there are two State in- 
stitutions that deserve notice, viz : the Institute for the Blind and the 
Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. 

The facilities for reaching market with manufactured and agricultural 
products are unsurpassed. The parish lies for nearly forty miles upon the 
Mississippi river, affording daily communication with New Orleans and the 
Western cities. The New Orleans and Pacific Railroad affords communica- 
tion with the Pacilio States, and the Mississippi Valley runs direct to Mem- 
phis and New Orkans. The southern portion of the parish carries on an 
extensive trade with New Orleans by steamer across the lakes, up the Amite 
river to Hope Villa. The "small planters" produce from ten to fifty hogs- 
heads of sugar, and have been so successful as to have attracted market 
attention. John Picou, one of the pioneers in this section in this industry, 
has never produced less than two hogsheads of sugar and frequently three 
hogsheads per acre. 

Wages for an espert field hand, on sugar plantations, are $18 per month 
and rations. WTiere the share system is adopted, as on cotton plantations, 
the laborer gets of v.hat he ])roduce3 one-third and rations, or one-half and 
feeds himself. Good mechanics get $3 per day, and are in demand. 

A soiirce of considerable profit to the planting and farming community is 
stock raising. Though not pursued as a separate business, is followed to 
some extent by every farmer. It is a business in which nearly all is profit. 
Nearly every one has his herd of cattle and hogs. These cost nothing for the 
raising, except herding, marking and branding, and this can be done without 
encroaching upon the time to be devoted to agricultural pursuits. There is a 
good market for all the butter the good housewife can make, so that as a col- 
lateral pursuit, stock raising is a profitable adjunct to farming operations. 

There is probably no place in Louisiana offering greater advantages for the 
establishment of factories of various kinds, than the City of Baton Rouge. 
Situated in a healthy locality, on land never subject to overflow, with a fer- 
tile country around it, upon the Mississippi river, and connected with the 
vast country lying west of that river by the Southern Pacific Railroad, it 
would seem to be marked out by nature for an eminent future, the realiza- 
tion of which is near at hand. Here stands the immense building of the 
Louisiana Penitentiary ; within those walls are contained the best of ma- 
chinery for the manufacture of woolen and cotton goods, with 200 looms and 
the necessary appliances for a complete factory. This factory can be leased 
on very favorable terms. An opportunity is here afforded to capitalists of 
very rare occurrence. The country around would furnish all the cotton neces- 
sary at one-half cent less than New Orleans prices, and with a population of 
8000 inhabitants, the City of Baton Rouge would furnish all the operatives 
necessary for a factory of 400 looms. 

There is established here a cotton seed oil mill, and so lucrative has been 
the business that the proprietors are erecting additional apparatus for refin- 
ning the oil. 

In iron work there is a factory engaged in the manufacture of sugar ma- 
chinery, steam trains, evaporators, etc. 

There is room enough for several of these factories. For the support of 



124 SOxME LATE WORDS * 

the operatives eugaged in these factories, the country will afford an abiiu- 
dauce of vegetables and fruits at reasonable prices. 



We now introduce some matter on the prairie parishes. It is 
entitled " The Soil and Products of Southwestern Louisiana, in- 
cluding the Parishes of St. Landry, Lafayette, Vermilion, St. 
Martin's, Iberia and St. Mary's." It was issued by the United 
States Department of Agriculture in the year 1884, and written 
by E. E. Eapley, special agent : 

Seventy-three miles west of the city of New Orleans, the Morgan, Louisi- 
ana and Texas Railroad crosses the Bayou Bneuf, the eastern boundary of the 
parish of St. Mary's, and several miles farther west is Brashear City, on 
Berwick's Bay. About 110 miles west of Berwick's Bay is the mouth of the 
river Mermeutau, which receives the waters of the Nez Pique, through the 
Upper Mermentau, Lake Arthur, and Lake Mermentau. The river and lakes 
form the western boundary of the parishes of St. Landry* and Vermilion. 
From the northern boundary of St. Landry to the Gulf coast the distance 
is about 100 miles, and from Belle river, the eastern line of the parish of 
Iberia, to Lake Arthur, the western limit of the parish of Vermilion, the dis- 
tance is about 80 miles. The southern boundary of these parishes is in lati- 
tude 29i^° — almost half a degree south of the latitude of New Orleans. The 
northern limit of St. Landry reaches latitude 31°, near the true cotton belt of 
the Southern States. The five parishes, St. Mary, Iberia, Vermilion, St. Martin, 
and La Fayette, were originally called Attakapas, and are now called Attak- 
apas parishes. The name was taken from one of the Indian tribes that in- 
habited this country. 

All trees here grow to an enormous size. I measured a live-oak stump 
which was 9 feet in diameter. Cypress furnishes the lumber for the country. 
Being light and durable, when pressed and polished it makes very rich trim- 
mings, and, in fact, nearly all the finer claRscs of houses are finished with it. 

The trees are all draped with moss, which grows in great abundance, and 
forms one of the industries of this country. ;ind really makes the laboring 
man independent ; for a man with ordinary industry can easily earn from 
$1.50 to $2.50 per day gathering and pre]iariiig it lor sale. The market ap- 
pears to be as certain as our wheat market. 

SOIL. 

The prairie and all the level lands I visited in this locality are of alluvial 
origin, with a surface soil of from 3 to 4 feet of almost inexhaustible fertility, 
formed and kept up by the annual decay of vegetable matter and overflows 
from higher altitudes. Some of this land will produce four crops of hay a year. 
I allude to Bermuda grass, which makes the best hav that is made in "this sec- 
tion. A slight variation is found in the subsoil. Ikir. Jeflerson informed me 
that he dug through clay at a depth of 2 feet from the surface in sinking his 
wells on the prairies, to be worked by windmills. In this vast prairie, con- 
taining three or four millions acres, there is a series of islands that are not 
surrounded by large and distinct rivers, but by bayous, which are simply 
little streams that drain them and part of the adjacent prairie. On these 
islands the soil is good and easy to cultivate, but of course not so rich or so 
deep as that of the prairies. As a general rule the soil runs as follows : First, 
rich vegetable mold from four to six inches deep, next loam? then sand, and 
lastly clay. So far as the soil is concerned I know of nothing that could not be 
raised here, except timothyt and some small fruits that fail in midsunmier if 
the season be dry. 

*Of Acadia now. 
t Tliia is au error. 



ABOUT LOUISIA^N-A. 125 



Although the prairies are wet during the winter and spring months, you 
never liuu them sour or hoggy, and the sweet, nutritious grass never ceases 
to grow, and I have noticed the cattle foraging when the surface was covered 
witlx water. In going from place to place the residents drive right through 
the ponds and lakes after heavy rains in March in preference to going around 
them. ■ No matter how deep they look to be, there is but little deviation 
from the level. The wheels hardly ever sink beyond the depth' of 2 or 3 
inches, even when wagons are loaded. The manner in which these prairie 
lands are drained is by open ditches cut to natural jjonds, as they are termed 
by the natives, or to the bayous. It would be impossible to drain these soils 
by blind ditches. There is almost an endless variety of vegetables grown 
here, and the house gardens can be so i)lauted to yield fresh vegetables of 
some kind the year round. They all seem to grow to perfection, and yield 
abundantly. I will give more in detail of the list of vegetables, the yield 
and manner of cultivation, in my report of the different parishes. The 
]teoplo live largely upon sweet potatoes and yams, together with fish and 
game. It seemed to be the market gardens only that were stocked with any 
git^at variety of vegetables. It was a very agreeable sight to see how 
thoroughly these gardeners attended to their crops after noticing with what 
carelessness the farmers attended to their kitchen gardens. 

Not much wheat is grown. The yield of straw is verv heavy ; the yield of 
grain generally light. They sow nothing but Spring wLeat. 

Farmers turn their cattle on the grain fields, chiefly oats, about the middle 
of February, and let them graze two or three weeks. Tliis furnishes good 
])asture and does not seem to interfere with the yield. I failed to obtain the 
average yield, but in reply to my (questions a farmer told mo he expected to 
make at least forty bushels to the acre. The Texas or other rust-proof vari- 
ties are generally sown, because they are best adapted to the climate and 
less susceptible to rust and insects. Kye is seldom grown for the grain, but 
is sometimes sown in the fall for winter and spring pasturage. When grain 
is soAvn in the fall the land is thrown up in dead furrows ; that is, throwing 
it up in beds about eighteen or twenty feet wide, with an open or dead furrow 
between, which holds the water during a wet season. 

Corn is planted in rows or ridges, live and a half feet apart. They call 
them ridges because they are thrown up very high. These drain the toj) very 
thorougly, and the crop is kept moist by the water remaining in the furrows 
until the season is pretty well advanced. All the fields I noticed seemed to 
be only one way : I mean they are not cross-plowed, as I have generally seen 
com worked. Tne corn, when gathered, is housed in the shuck. 

CATTLE RAISING. 

One of the principal industries of this locality is raising cattle for the 
butcher, and very little attention is paid to growing fine stock for dairy 
purposes. 

Cattle raising could be made more profitable than it is by dividing the 
prairies into smaller pasture fields and by cutting and curing thousands of 
tons of hay that go to waste, to be fed from the rack Avhen the pasturage 
grows short. During at least nine months in the year the grass is so strong 
and luxuriant that the cattle tramp down and destroy more than they con- 
sume. It has only recently been discovered that the sea marsh in this part 
of Louisiana att'ords as good pasturage as there is in the world. Strong, 
nutritious grass grows in great abund.ance, resembling very much in taste and 
appearance what is known in the nuddle States as red top, only a little taller 
and as thick as it can stand. From as near an estimate as I could make, if 
cut and cured, which could be easily done in the proper season, it would 
yield five tons of good hay per acre. There are thousands of acres of the sea 
marsh that could be most profitably used by those owning the prairie or 
higher land adjoining it. I am writing from personal observation, having 
ridden over it on horseback in perfect safety. The only obstructions to 
guard against are muskrat holes, but for a pasture for at least six mouths in 
the year, without expenditure, it cannot be excelled. I see no reason to pre- 
vent them from using it longer, if they will build sheds to protect their 



126 SOME LATE WOEDS 

cattle in midsummer. Some of tlie natives say that the mosquitoes would 
kill them in the spring season, but this I doubt, for there is always a strong 
Gulf breeze. 

Deer are to be found here in great numbers, also wild cattle and hogj. 

There is no danger from floods from the higher countries, for by inquiry 
from the oldest inhabitants, and these I could rely on for the most accurate 
information, there lias been no overflow for twenty-three years, and then the 
water reached the depth of about 10 inches, by backing up from the Gulf of 
Mexico and meeting the floods from the higher lands, remaining but a short 
time and then flowing oti' rapidly. Even in cases of an overflow, there are 
spots elevated above the common level on which they can go for safety. 
During the winter sen son the marsli is covered with a heavy growth of the 
season previous, whicli makes very good hay, being perfectly clean, free from 
rust or mould, and we noticed our horses ate it whenever we gave them the 
opportunity. But the cattle seemed to prefer the geen spring growth which is 
just makiujf its way through the root. It has a sweet with a very slight salty 
taste. I saw lots of cattle that were turned on the marsh in December when 
they were there and in bad condition. They are now looking fine and healthy, 
and nine-tenths of them seal fat. 

This sea-marsh land is very cheap, and yet it is better pasture, in winter 
especially, than the prairie lands that command ten times the price. The 
cattle-dealers who own sea-marsh and the adjoining highlands and prairie, 
have a great advautage over those in the Middle and Western States, for there 
is no need of fertilizer of any kind, no outlay for shelter, and very little need 
of fencing. If they fence at all, it is by sticking green willow poles. It seems 
to make little difl'erence whether they be the main stock or branches. They 
immediately take root. On these they stretch the wire, with stakes driven 
down along the line to strengthen it. As the fencing is cheaply done, the 
older it gets the stronger it is. Those who use the sea-marsh as' a cattle range 
drive them off in the latter part of August. At this season the heavy spring 
and summer growth has fully matured and begins to dry, when it is burned, 
to be out of the way of the coming crop. This grows rapidly and furnishes 
good pasture about the time the paririe shows the eiioct of midsummer, espec- 
ially if the hot season be long and dry. 

In the native cattle there can still be seen traces of the old Spanish breed, 
with enormously long and wide-spreading horns, narrow chests, high flanks, 
and deeply-sunken backbones. All the characteristics requisite for good 
breeding animals are absent. The stock-raisers say that these cattle are so 
thoroughly acclimated that it is a rare thing to see disease or sickness of any 
kind among them, and requiring so little attention, they look upon them as 
the most profitable. Past experience teaches them it is a mistake to import 
old cattle in order to improve the breed, for they invariably die off. The few 
that live after the first year have made these efforts to improve stock expen- 
sive and unprofitable. Some are now adopting a new method, and, I think, 
the right one, from what I saw. It is importing calves as soon as they are old 
enough to leave the cow. Some attention must be paid to them for the first 
season. They will then thrive and do as well as the native cattle. 

I had the pleasure of seeing the finest lot of registered Holstein calves that 
I have ever seen. The owner says they are doing well and looking better 
than the herd jfrom which he bought them in New York. They are about 
ten months old, and are as large as any of the Alderney cows on the planta- 
tion. This herd is on Mr. J. Jefterson's plantation. He also has a herd of 
about forty registered Short horns, and some tine specimens of the Aberdeen 
Angus breed. He is very favorably impressed with the Holsteins and thinks 
they are the cattle for the country. His efforts will be of great value to 
the people in that locality. 

The following list of fruits and vegetables is given in Dennett : Plums, 
figs, quince, pears, cherries, grapes, pawpaws, persimmons, pecans, hickory- 
nuts, walnuts, blackberries, dewberries, may-apples, mulberries, crab- 
apples, black and red haws, chincapins, strawberries, and some other fruits ; 
nuts and other fruits of little importance thrive and mature well in these 
parishes. In Saint Mary's and along the coast to the Mermentau, oranges are 



ABOUT LOCJISIAls^A. 127 

raised yearly in great abundance,* and the Mespilus or Japan plum, lem- 
ons, limes, bannanas, and pineapples may be produced in the open air as high 
up aa Franklin by giving them a little extra attention in the winter. 

Turnips, cabbage, melons, and all the other garden vegetables grow as well 
in these parishes as they do north of the Ohio Eiver. 

The best winter gardens contain large white-head cabbage, rutabagas and 
flat turnips, onions, eschallots, garlic, mustard, roquette, radishes, caulitiower, 
beets, cress, lettuce, parsley, leeks, English peas, celery, endive, &c. These 
thrive well in the garden all winter, except in very cold winters, where those 
fartherest inland suffer a little from the frost. But this occurs so seldom that 
they have less fear of the drouth injuring our crops than in the Middle States. 

ST. martin's parish. 

The extreme length of the parish of St. Martin's is 24 miles, and its width 
averages about 18. It contains about 400 square miles of rich prairie, 
swamps, lands heavily timber^ and tillable lands, covered with the finest 
body of timber in the State, suitable for sugar, wood, building purposes, cab- 
inet, wagons, plows, and all kinds of wooden-ware. The parish is bounded 
on the north by St. Landry, by La Fayette on the \\ est, Iberia on the south, 
and Iberville on the east. 

THE TECHE LANDS. 

The Bayou Teche enters St. Martin's at its junction with Bayou Fusilier at 
Amandaville, formerly called Leouville, and meandering through the parish, 
enters the parish of Iberia, 6 miles below the town of St. MartinviUe, near 
Lake Tasse, 35 miles from Amandaville. 

The tillable land from St. MartinviUe, east of the Teche, is 18 miles in 
width, including all the land between this bayou and Catahoula Lake. At 
Amandaville the tillable land on the east side of the bayou is 3 miles in width. 
The average width of the tillable land on the east side of this bayou, in its 
entire course through the parish, is over 5 miles, and its average width on the 
west side of the Teche is 3 miles. In places, in the great bends of the bayou 
will be found some of the largest sugar plantations in the State. In our esti- 
mation, it is difficult to overrate either the beauty or the merits of this portion 
of Attakapaa. 

RICH SOIL. 

The richness of the soil is proverbial, for it possesses all the qualities that 
are essential and desirable in any soil — drainage, ease of cultivation, its last- 
ing fertility in the production of sugar, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, indigo, or 
any other crop now grown or ever grown in the same latitude. Fruits, melons, 
potatoes, cabbages, turnips, and the whole list of field, garden, and orchard 
products can be realized. No portion of Louisiana can excel that of the val- 
ley of the Teche, in the parish of St. Martin's. 

FORESTS. 

From the open prairie, which runs parallel with and near the Teche, to the 
Atchafalaya, the eastern limits of St. Martin, it is almost an unbroken forest 
of the finest timber in Louisiana. 

In the swamps of the Atchafalaya there are millions of cypress trees, tall, 
straight, and many of them from 3 to 4 feet in diameter. Between these 
swamps and the Teche prairie, on the tillable lands, there is an immense un- 
broken forest of oak, gum, hickory, black walniit, magnolia, live-oak, white, 
red, and other oaks, lime, pecan, sycamore, and other wild growths of less 
importance. On the west side of the Teche, in the rear of the open prairie, 
extending from Bayou Fusilier and the Upper Vermillion, down Bayou 
Tortue to Lake Tasse, there is a forest of swamps, cypress, and also of oak 
and gum, and other trees which grow on dry and tillable lands. Both banks 
of the Teche are skirted with, fine forests. 

'We would caation the reader agamst regarding the area in qnestion, aa a reliable orang* 
belt. 



128 SOME LATE WORDS 



THE VALE OF THE TECHE. 

The lines of swelling forests in the rear take the place of hills, in helping 
to form the valley of the Teche. This bayon, iu its course throngh St. 
Martin, is extremely beautiful, in many respects more beautiful than the 
Lower Teche, as it meanders through St. Mary. Its tirst banks, on both sides 
at St. Martin ville, are nearly 20 feet high. The banks of the bayou have a 
slope of less than thirty degrees to the water's edge. The banks give the 
bayou everywhere the appearance of a high canal. The water is not more 
than 2^ or three feet deep in summer and autumn, and the surface is but 50 
or 60 feet wide, but for about six months in the year it is navigable for small 
steamers. One lock at St. Martinville would render the bayou navigable to 
the junction the year round. 

THE FOREST OF THE TECHE. 

The scenery all along on both banks of the Teche from St. Martinsville to 
the junction, a distance of 30 miles, is the most charming and magniticent we 
have ever seen in any part of the United States. 

The forest trees on both banks, the magnolia, ash, live-oak, red, white, 
and other oaks, black walniit, lime, gum, pecan, hickory, sycamore, and otlier 
trees ; all tall, graceful, and of generous growth. On thousands of acres the 
grass grows on a smooth surface under the noble branches of the magniticent 
trees. These lands are far more beautiful than the famoiis woodland pas- 
tures of Kentucky ; the trees have a more luxuriant growth, the foliage is 
richer and hangs out in the broad branches in a more generous abundance. 
And the soil is rich beyond anything we saw in the great West. It is the 
cleanest looking country I have ever seen. The beautiful smooth prairies 
look as though they had just been washed. The fat herds grazing upon these 
green expanses help in giving the linishing touch to this magnilicent laud- 
scape scencery. 

FRUITS. 

Just liere I will take occasion to say that peaches seem to thrive particu- 
larly well in this parish;* yield certain, prolific, and of the finest flavor, 
and grow very large and perfect in shape. They are finer, and do not rot so 
soon after being picked as those grown farther north. They command a high 
price in the New Orleans market. 

POULTRY. 

Large flocks of poultry are found on the prairie, for in this warm climate very 
little shelter is needed for them, and they find plenty of insects and grass- 
seed to keep them in good condition. They produce a bountiful supply of 
eggs, which are consei^iiently A'^ery cheap. They sometimes sell as low as 5 cents 
per dozen, and never more than 10. Grown chickens sell from 20 to 25 cents a 
piece at the highest. They only eat them for a cliange of diet; for the very 
poorest class of peo)>le live on what we of Middle and Northern States term lux- 
uries. All the bayous and lakes are full of the finest flsh, such as trout, black 
bass, gar, sachylia, snnlish, gas])ergoo, and numerous others which I do not 
call to mind just at this moment; and on these same waters, abound in great 
numbers, canvass-back, redliead, ma Hard, bald-])ate, blue and green wing teal, 
and summer ducks. Wild geese are on the lakes and sea-marsh the entire 
Avinter. A]l this is perfectly free. There are no ducking clubs or fisliing 
m(>in)]>olies here. The iiest jack-snipe grounds in the world are found in the 
TccIk^ country. t . To give an idea of the quantity of snipe, I was one of a 
party of thv(^e tliat killed fifty-three birds on a piece of ground that measured 
as ac(Mirate]y as we could by stepping, that was a little less than an acre. Then 
we did not kill half tliat flew up. Snipe feed here by the thousand. They also 
have ))lover. rail, prairie chickens, and qiiail in great abundancti. I have seen 
gunners a little farther north + tramping miles and miles to get a shot at birds 

*This will apply to all the parishes of southwest Louisiana. 

tThe country tjieie is no better — hardly as good now — as nearerthe Gulf, further west in the 
State — as, in the southwest parts of Vermillion and Calcasieu parishes. 
J This refers to other States, North and East, and not to Lovusiana. 



ABOUT LOUISIA^^A. 129 

found here feeding and jumping around seemingly in perfect security, for they 
are not molested here by the sportsmen. I allude to such birds as robins, doves, 
flickers, reed-birds, field-larks particularly, as they are very shy in the North. 
They do not fly away, but walk, and will let a person get within 10 feet of 
them. v!?There are also a great many deer in this country, which generally 
frequent the sea-marsh. Opossum, coon, rabbit, and red squirrel are very 
numerous, but are seldom or never hunted. There is game always in season. 
When it is out for one kind, the other is coming, so that a sportsman is always 
in his glory. 

I think what I have said in reference to the boundless supplies within the 
reach of every individual living in this section of the country speaks volumes 
in praise of the working-class ; for, notwithstanding fi^h and game can be had 
for nothing, and that meat is raised at a very trifling cost, good labor can be 
had for |1 per day. 

LA FAYETTE PATJISH. 

Ira Fayette is the smallest of the Attakapas parishes. Its extreme length is 
about 19 miles, audits width about the same. Its northeast boundary made 
by the bayous Carancro and Tortue is irregular, the other three lines are 
nearly straight. This parisli ha.s an area of about 300 scpiare miles, nearly all 
of which is prairie land and go^nprally cultiv. ted in corn, cotton, cane, and 
rice by the largest planters ; while the other ■ portions are cultivated in vari- 
ous crops, such as potatoes, cabbage, peas, and all sorts of garden truck. 

SOIL. 

The soil of La Fayette Parish is a light loam, and more sand is found mixed 
in It than any other. The average depth of the soil is about 12 inches. It 
rests on a clay subsoil, and is like the soil in all the parishes in fertility. They 
are all rich in plant food, and the fertile properties of the subsoil are devel- 
oped by exposure to the sun and mixing with the surface soils. There are 
fields in La Fayette Avhich have been in cultivation for eighty years, princi- 
pally in corn and cotton, and are liroducing abundant crops to-day. The only 
help they have ever had by way of fertilizing or manuring has been occa- 
sionally plowing under a crop of cow-peas. They use two-horse plows in 
breaking up their land and cultivate their crops with one. The land is so 
easily cultivated, that they work their crops with great ease and rapidity. 

The price of good farming lands to-day range from f8 to $30 an acre. 

BEAU BASIN. 

The road leading'from Vermillion to Grand Conteau, rims through a beauti- 
ful agricultural region called Beau Basin . It is 12 miles from Vermillion to Car- 
ancro Crossing and about 4 from the road to the eastern boundary of Beau 
Basin, which is the boundary of the parish. 

The lands near Vcnnilliou* are nearly IcA^el, but extremely productive. A 
few miles north, between the' road and the bayous, the surface becomes beau- 
tifully rolling. The gentle slopes and long tortuous ravines may be ranked 
with the most delightful landscape scenery in Attakapas. Here we find some 
of the most pleasant building sites in this enchanting country. The swells are 
like the heaving bosom of the ocean after a storm. Descending into the 
ravine, one feels as tliough he were in the trough of the sea, so to rise up 
again on the mountain wave and look out on the green ocean. The cottages 
of the farmers are neat and comfortable. The green pastures, fat cattle, and 
fine fields of cotton and corn in their proper season indicate a rich soil and a 
. prosperous population. .Shade trees and clumps of timber add greatly to the 
beauty of the scenery. The fields are generally inclosed with a nice fencing, 
and the lan<ls are pretty Avell ditched. The country is airy, pleasant, and 
healthy. Between Vermillion and New Iberia are situated Cote Gelee and 
Roy ville. The soil is rich, the country undulating, with deeper ravines and 
higher swells than we find in Beau Basin. The farmers are thrifty, but not as 
independent as they are in the north of Vermillionville. Plain dwelling 
houses and groves of China trees may be seen in all dii'cctions. The scenery 

*Now Lafayette. 



130 SOME LATE WORDS 

dn places fs quite picturesque. This is an open and airy country, with'pleas- 
*ant locations for residences, admirably drained, the soil rich, mixed with 
«nough sand and vegetable loam to make it easy of cultivation. No por- 
tion of the South can be more healthful than this. The houses are very low 
and badly ventilated, the inhabitants paying but little attention to health, 
sometimes not even having Avindows. Still all the people appear to be per- 
fectly healthy and have very little use for the doctor. 

A great deal of land in the parish of La Fayette is now and has been chang- 
ing hands. New enterprises and industries are gradually increasing. 

VERMILION RIVER. 

I In mentioning this, I cannot do better than copy from Darby in his 
/geographical observations : 

*' The two vast prairies known by the names of the Opelousas and the 
(Attakapas, extend themselves on each side of the Vermilion, through its 
Iwhole traverse, from its entrance into Attakapas to its egress into the Gulf 
of Mexico, the distance of 100 miles'. 

" AVood is much more abundant on the Vermilion than along the west bank 
rof the Teche, and though the soil may be inferior in fertility, it is neverthe- 
less excellent; and the quantity greater on an equal extent of river. 

"There are certainly 80 miles of the banks of the Vermilion which have an 
extension backwards 2 miles, affording 320 superficial miles, or 204,800 acres. 
! "Some of the most beautiful settlements yet made in Attakapas are upon 
this river. From the diversity in soil and elevation, there is no risk in giv- 
ing the preference in beauty of ai)pearance to the banks of the Vermilion over 
any other river in Louisiana south of Bayou Bteuf. If situatious favorable 
to health, united with the most agreeable prospects, bounded but by the 
horizon, should be sought after ; were taste to select sites for buildings, its 
research would here be requited, aud be gratified by the breezes which come 
direct from the Gulf of Mexico. Fancy itself could not form a more delight- 
ful range than the Carancro and Cote Gelee settlements. On leaving the 
dead level of the Teche or the almost flat extension of the Opelousas prairie, 
the eye is perfectly enchanted. If a bold extent of view can give vigor to 
the imagination, if the increase of the power of intellect bear any proportion 
to the sweep of the eye, upon one of the eniinences ought a seat of learning 
be established. There the yoi'itliful A-aletudinarian of the North would, in 
the waiin, soft, aud vivifying air of the South, tind his health restored and 
his soul enlarged. Astonishing as it may sound to many, I do not hesitate to 
pronounce this, together with the range of hills from Opelousas, as the most 
healthy and agreeable, near the alluvial land of Louisiana." 

There are numerous churches of all denominations, with school-houses at 
convenient distances, aud well attended. 

CROPS AND FlITUTS. 

Cotton, com, sugar, rice, anrl all of the field and garden crojis of the other 
Attakapas parishes, do well here. Couuuon Irish and sweet potatoes, melons, 
peaches. ]nimpkins, and tield ptias find a remarkably congenial soil. All the 
fruits of the other Attakap;is i>;irislies, excaqit oranges and the more delicate 
kinds, thrive finely in La Fayette. Formerly indigo was profitably culti- 
vated here. 

POULTRY. 

This is one of the best parishes in the State for all kinds of domestic fowls. 
Some families make a business of it. 

GENERAL FACTS. 

The bayou or river Vermilion is navigable 15 miles above the bridge on the 
New Iberia road aud 7.5 miles below the bridge to Vermilion Bay. Large 
crops of sugar aud cotton are raised in this parish. 

The horses, hogs, cattle, and live stock generally are healthy in this section. 

The only inconvenience or drawback of this section is the scarcity of fire- 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. ISr 

wood. Tlie principal source is the trimmings of the catalpa and china trees. 

The average yield of corn, where properly cultivated, is from 50 to 60 bush- 
els an acre. 

Sweet potatoes, from two to three hundred bushels per acre. 

There are a great many Western mules and horses used in this section, but 
there is no reason why they shoiild find it profitable to buy them, for the 
native mules and horses are very good workers* They can endure great hard- 
ships, and are raised at very little expense, good jiasturage being abundant 
the entire year. 

VEKMILION PARISH. 

GENER.M. DESCRIPTION. 

The parish of Vermilion contains about 1,600 square miles of land .nnd 
water within its limits. About 600 square miles of this is tillable woodland, 
prairie, and cj^press swamps. About 500 square miles would include the 
prairie and 100 square miles tlie timber land, the smaller part of which is 
cypress swamps. Lakes, bays, uud seamarsh cover about 1,000 square miles 
of the surface of the parish. 

About a quarter of the tillable land is on the east side of the Vermilion 
River or Bayou, and three quarters on the wes, side extending to Lake Arthur 
and the Mermentau River. The timber land is principally on the Vermilion 
River, extending on both sides from the LaFayette side nearly to Vermilion 
Bay. 

The timber is narrow above Abbeville, but it becomes broad below this vil- 
lage, extending out a mile and a half on each side in places. As it ap])roachcs 
the bay it becomes narrower. Below Abbeville there is a creek on the west; 
side of the river lined with a heavy body of timber, and there is another on 
the east side. A line of forest trees extends across the Xew Iberia aud Abbe- 
ville road beyond the head of the creek. There is a line of cypress timber, on 
land a little higher than the prairie, at the edge of the sea-marsh north of 
Marsh Lake, 12 miles long and three-quarters of a mile wide, and there are 
islands of timber in the edge of the sea-marsh east of Vermilion River. There 
is also timber on the south side of Bayou Queue Tortue and on the Pecan 
Island and Grand Cheniere River. 

SOIL AND SCENERY. 

The soil of this parish is a dark vegetable mold, with a large proportion of 
sand, from 8 to 12 inches deep. This rests on a siibsoil of grayish clay. 

The soil along the Vermilion River has a larger proiiortiou of sand tliau that 
farther back ; this gives the soil a lighter color. On account of the larger 
proportion of sand here than in the Teche lands these fields are more easily 
cultivated, and the roads need but little working — in most instances none at 
all — to keep them good the year round. The bottom of ponds and ditches are 
not boggy. One may pass over any of them on horseback without any in- 
convenience to the horse or rider. There are natural ponds in all these prair- 
ies, where the stock cattle are supplied with water. These ponds are from 
twenty to fifty yards in diameter. 

Being forcibly struck with tlie convenience of those natural ponds, as they 
are called by the residents, I made inquiry as to whether they had been made 
for reservoirs for the purpose of holding the supply for the stock during the 
drj'^ season. The only answer I received was, "they had no recollection of 
any of them being made by the hand of num." Prairie (Tregg, which lies next 
to the sea-marsh southeast of Abbeville, is a beautiful sheet of laud, level and 
rich, the soil darker than that east of Abbeville. The Gulf breezes sweep 
over it uninterrupted by forest trees. There are but few of the old inhabi- 
tants here who cultivate their land to any extent, relying i)riuci'tially on 
fruits, poultry, and stock-raising, which yield them a revenue with which 
they seem to be perfectly satisfied. 

THE PRAIIIIE WEST OF THE VERMILION RIVER. 

Viewed from an elevated ])osition of the Queue Tortue, half way between 
the Vermilion and Lake Arthur, the scenery is the most perfect of its kind 



132 SOME LATE WOEDS 

that fancy can describe. Facing tlie south, one may here turn to the right or 
to the left, and as far as the eye can reach there is one vast extent of natural 
meadow. Here and there may be seen a herd of cattle or horses, almost hid- 
den in some places by the tall natural grass. The ]irairie east, west and south 
are dotted with little groves of trees, which shade the cottages of the resi- 
dent population, who live principally by hunting, tishing and stock-raising. 

FOREST trp:ks. 

The dry-land timber is oak, ash, magnolia, gum, hickory, elm, beech and 
hackberry. The usual dry-laud timl)er, with the exception of chestnut, is 
present. The swamp growth is principally cypress. 

CROPS. 

The soil is good for sugar-cane, cotton, rice, i)otatoes, and all the products 
of the Attakapas parishes. 

The yield of cotton is not as large per acre as in higher latitiites. The 
parish is peculiarly adapted to the cultivaticm of rice. It may become the 
leading rice parish in the State. Large yields of sugar have been grown in 
the parish ; as large as 3,000 pounds have beeu produced : from 800 to 1,000 
pounds of rice. The capacity of the soil is stioug, but has been neglected on 
account of the great attention paid to stot-k-raisiug. Oxen are generally 
used in breaking up new ground, and creole or native horses in cultivating it. 

Oxen are not put to work until the grass rises in March, since but few of 
them are fed on hay or corn. 

It is surprising to see so little attention ]»ai(l to making hay, when it could 
be gathered in great abundance. Millions of tons are trampled under foot 
and go to waste, for the numljer of cattle that are raised iii this section can- 
not consume the great quantity of grass iu the growing season. Agriculture 
has received less attention here than in the other parishes. 

Good well-water can be had ia this section at a depth varying from 20 to 30 
feet. 

A large quantity of poultry and eggs are shiiiped to the New Orleans mar- 
ket from this section. 

This parish abounds in Avild game, such as duck, geese, brent, quail, wild 
hogs, prairie hen, and deer. 

Vermilion Bay abounds in lish and oysters. The fresh-water lakes, ponds, 
and bayous have an abundance of tish . 

ABBKVILLr:. 

The Vermilion River is navigable the entire length of this parish, and ves- 
sels ply between Abbeville and New Orleaus, carrying the products of the 
surrouuding parishes to the metropolis of the South. 

Abbeville is beautifully situated, about thirty-live miles from the mouth of 
the river. 

The population is slowly but steadily increasing. 

SAINT MARY'S PARISH. 

The parish of Saint Mary's has a frout on four gi'eat bays, connected with 
the Gulf of IVIexico, 40 miles iu extent. It luis au average width of a little 
more than 12 miles. It is about .50 miles by the main road through the parish 
from its western line, near Jeannerette, to its eastern line, at the B(eutf 
crossing of the Morgan Railroad. Before the year 1868, the western line of 
St. Mary's extended to a point only 1 mile east of New Iberia, and Petite 
Anse Isiand was included in the limits of the parish. Its largest crops then 
were 50,000 hogsln-ails of sugar and 70,000 baiicis of molasses. Saint Mary's 
then contained i;0 sugar ])laulati()ns, lining the Tedie on l)oth sides, Bayou 
Cypremort, Bayou Sal'-, Atchafala-ya, Berwicks Bay, the Bffuf Bayou Shatter, 
spread out on the Au Large prairie west and the Cypremort i)rairie south of 
Jeannerette, and on the three heautif'd islands, Petite Anse, Grand Cote, and 
Cote Blanche. Belle IsJe iu former days was cultivated as a sugar plantation 
by its proprietor. Dr. Walter Brashear. St. Mary's appears to splendid 
advantage from the pilot-house of a steamboat as she plows through theses 



ABOUT L0UISIA:N^A. 133 

navigable bayous, lakes, and bays, and to poor advantage on the best map 
that can be drawn. 

GENERAL ELEVATION. 

The highest land in Saint Mary's, excepting the islands Cote Blanche and 
lielle Isle, is not over 15 feet above the level of the Gulf of Mexico. The 
highest land around Berwick's Bay has an elevation of about 10 feet, and 
from the bay to Pattersouville, ami three or four miles up the mouth of the 
Teche, the elevation is but little above that around the bay and on the Boeuf. 
At franklin, the west bank of the Bayou Teche is about 13 feet above tide- 
water, autl the east bank is a little lower. Below Jeaunerotte, the elevation 
is 15 feet. The two islands. Belle Isle and Cote Blanche, at their highest 
points rise more than 160 feet above the level of the (iulf. The sea marsh is 
most of it under water during storms from the Gulf, sweeping towards the 
laud at this point. 

SOIL. 

There is not an acre of poor land in the parish. Fields that have been cul- 
tivated in corn and sugar-cane for nearly a century, without manure, still 
produce good crops. Tiie lands are easily and cheaply reKtore<l after long con- 
tinued and severe cropping. The parish has laud restoratives within its 
limits better than Peruvian guano, as we Avill show in an article under its 
proi)er heading. 

AGKICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 

Cotton is cultivated in Saint Mary's, but it is not considered a profitable 
crop. Sugar-cane is the true crop of the parish. Much of the land is adapted 
to rice. The sea marsh, by local levees and draining-machines, makes rich 
rice lands. The soil consists principally of a ^^egetable deposit of great depth. 
Swamp-lands or any of the rcclaimable wet lands are fine for rice ; corn, sweet 
and Irish potatoes, pvimpkius, peas, beans, indigo, ramie, arrowroot, ginger, 
castor-oil beau, tobacco, hay, cabbage, and turnips do well in this climate, 
though a part of this list has only been cultivated to a limited extent. Sea- 
island cotton does well on the island along the coast. 

GARDENS. 

Garden vegetables grow in this parish the year round. Nearly all kinds of 
vegetables grow the same here as in the N rth and West. The winter gar- 
dens contain onions, mustard, eschalots, leeks, garlic, beets, cabbage, carrots, 
turnips, cress, roquette, lettuce, radish, cauliflower, celery, &c. Good gar- 
dens have an abundance of vegetables, fresh the year round. White head 
cabbage and fine rutabaga ami red-top turnips may be taken fresh from the 
garden iu January and February, and also in the summer and fall.* 

HEDGES. 

The pyracanth makes the best hedge in this country. It is propagated 
from cuttings, is an evergreen, beautiful, compact, full of short thorns, grows 
thick and close to the ground, cnn be trained to any desired shape, and makes 
a good hedge in a few years. The cherokee rose is useless The chickasaw 
rose makes a good hedge, but it makes a mountain of vines and foliage. The 
hois d'arc makes a good hedw. but it requires too uiucli labor and is too 
much inclined to grow tall and form trees. 

V THE CHINA, CATALPA AND BLACK LOCUST. 

The china is a fine shade tree ; bugs and worms will not live on or around 
it. It is propagated readily from seeds, makes good firewood even when 
.green, makes good cabinet wood, grows rapidly, not easy to decay, and makes 
good fence-posts. The limbs cut from trees planted near" houses in the prairies 
supply many families with wood. Its growth is rapid, and it bears close trim- 
ming. Nearly the same facts hold good iu regard to the catalpa and the black 
locust. 



' The above facts as to vegetables will apply to most of Louisiana. 



134 SOME LATE WORDS 

OVERFLOWS. 

Tlie west bank of the Teche, from a poiut 5 or 6 miles below Centreville to 
its source in Saint Landry, has }iot been overllowed since the memory of man; 
and it has no levees to protect it. This banli protects Bayou Salle, Cypremort 
and all of the country west of this bayou. The lands in the lower part of the 
parish and on the east side of the Teche here, overllowed in 1778, 1828 and 
1867. When (irand Levee on the Mississippi stands firm, no part of Saint 
Mary's can suher from overflow. 

GENERAL ITEMS. 

The fishes of the waters in and around Saint .Mary's are redfish, black drum, 
trout, sheephead, flounder, mullet, croaker, cat, buffalo, perch, soft-shell 
turtle, gar and chonpique. 

White jneu stand held hibor in St. Mary's as well as colored men, and have 
less sickness and mortality. Milch cows, when perfectly attended to, do well 
in this parisli. No riclier luLlk or iiner butter is produced anywhere, than that 
formerly pro;luced on Bayou Teche. Hogs, chickens and all kinds of poultry 
do well in this parish, excepting turkeys, which, from some unknown cause, 
do not thrive well. 

Steamers may land at nearly all of the plantations of this parish. The par- 
ish is situated on the tide- water, and never suffers by freshets from heavy or 
long-C(mtinued rains. 

The crops of Saint Jilary's are laid by, and field work stops, or may stop, by 
the 1st of July. 

The Teche is considered the most beautiful bayou in the State. 

SAINT LANDRY PARISH. 

AREA AND PHYSICAL CHARACTER. 

The parish of Saint Landry contains about 1,350,000 acrea,* nearly equally 
divided between woodland and prairie. About three-quarters of the land is 
suitable for planting and grazing purposes. It is well watered by numerous 
bayous, running streams, and branches, nearly all clothed with a generous 
growth of timber, in many places a mile wide. Between the timbered streams, 
fine natural meadows spread ont, clothed over nine months of the year, with 
grass that contains large herds of cattle and horses. 

THE SOIL AND FACE OF THE COUNTRY. 

In the upper part of the parish nearly all the streams, fed by springs, take 
their rise. Here the country is somewhat hilly, and is covered by a dense 
forest of pine, oak, ash, walnut, hickory and other valuable forest trees. Here 
also are found valuable mineral springs, which are much resorted to by in- 
valids, and which possess great curative properties. Considerable deposits of 
limestone are here found, from which, for home consumption, is made a very 
excellent lime, and a very fine quarry of marble, which is susceptible of a 
beautiful polish and is valuable for being made into mantel-pieces, monu- 
ments, &c. The soil in the middle and lower portion is excellent, resting on 
a subsoil of a fine brown or grayish clay, which, when plowed up, exposed to 
the weather, and mixed with surface soil, is as rich as the upper stratum. 
That subject to overflow, being rich alluvial, is inexhaustible and adapted to 
all the products of this latitude. The soil of the prairie is generally mellow 
and easy of cultivation. Grass covers all portions of the parish, except the 
cultivated fields or surface covered by forests or water. More than half a 
million acres of grass in Saint Landry is not under fence. The greater portion 
of the wealth of Saint Landry has been obtained from horses and cattle on the 
prairies, raised without hay or shelter. On these prairies a hundred thousand 
tons of hay might be made yearly for the New Orleans and other markets. 

The following geographical description is found in a report made by Dar- 
bey in 1817, when the Sabine was the western boundary of the parish of Saint 
Landry, including a descripti»n of the Opdleusas prairie: 

'The pai'ish has since been impaired in area, by the formattom of Acadia from it. 



ABOUT LOUISIAKA. 135 

PRAIRIE AND HERDS. 

This vast expanse of natural meadow extends 75 miles southwest and liortli- 
east, and is 25 miles wide, coutaiuiu;2j more than 1,200,000 acres, inclusive of 
the numerous points of Avoods that form its margin on all sides. This prairie 
begins 13 miles northwest of Opelousas and, gradually opening to the south- 
ward, sends out various branches between the bayous. 

Of the herds, as there seen on the i>rairie, the same author remarks : "Here 
you behold those vast herds of cattle which afford subsistence to the natives 
and the inhabitants of New Orleans. It is certainly one of the most agree- 
able views in nature, to behold from a point of elevation, thousands of cattle 
and horses of all sizes scattered over the intermediate mead in wild confusion. 
The mind feels a glow of corresponding innocent enjoyment with those useful 
and inoffensive animals grazing in a sea of plenty. If the active horsemen 
that guard us would keep their distance, fancy would transport them back- 
ward into the pastoral ages. Allowing an animal to be produced for every 
five acres, more than two hundred and twenty thousand can be yearly reared 
and transported from this prairie alone, which, at an average of ten dollars a 
head, would amount to $2,200,000." At the time the above article was writ- 
ten, the year 1817, Mr. Darbey estimated the herds of the three greatest 
stock owners of the country, Mr. Wikoff, Mr. Fontenot, Mr. Andrus, at 20,000 
head. 

OVERFLOWS. 

Portions of Saint Landry on the Atchafalaya and some of the bayous, are 
subject to overflow, when Grand Levee gives way, but most of the lands have 
never been under water since the parish has been inhabited by white men, and 
never can be ; and even the overflowed lands may be converted into rice plan- 
tations to some extent, or reclaimed when the levees of the Mississippi and 
Atchafalaya are made secure. Most of the lands subject to the overflow are 
the richest in the world, and contain a heavy growth of cypress. 

CROPS, FRUITS, AND GARDENS. 

The crops, fruits, and gardens of Saint Landry and of the other five parishes 
described in this circular, excepting cotton and oats, are less troubled by in- 
sects and vermin, and less liable to disease than they are in higher latitudes 
in other parts of the United States. The surface cultivated in Saint Landry 
yearly, amounts to about 100,000 acres. About one-third of this is planted in 
cotton. Not a tenth part of the tillable land is under cultivation. With a 
working population like that of the Western States, and the same kind of 
cultivation, that parish might send to market yearly 100,000 bales of cotton, 
50,000 hogsheads of sugar, 75,000 barrels of molasses, and rice, tobacco, broom 
corn, basket willow, beeves, hay, horses, milch cows, sheep, hogs, hides, 
poultry, eggs, rosin, turpentine, and other valuable products to the amount 
of from $10,000,000 to $15,000,000. Such varied and valuable resources, in a 
climate so salubrious, can hardly be found anywhere else on the face of the 
earth. 

TIMBERED BOTTOMS. 

The timbered bottoms are rich and are excellent for sugar, rice, cotton, 
corn, sweet and Irish potatoes, peas, tobacco, melons, pumpkins, hay, garden 
fruits, &c. No richer land cau be found anywhere. They are heavily tim- 
bered with the best of sugar wood, and the swamps contain an inexhaustible 
supply of the best of timber for building purposes and for hogsheads and bar- 
rels for the sugar planters. 

BAYOUS, RIVERS AND STREAMS. 

The Atchafalaya, on the east, connects this parish by steamboat navigation, 
with New Orleans. 

The Bayou Courtablean, formed by the junction of the Crocodile and the 
Bceuf, affords good navigation to Washington the entire year, with slight 
and occasional interruption duriug the summer. The route is down the 
Courtableu to the Atchafalaya, thence up the latter to the Mississippi River, 
and thence to the city of New Orleans. The Bayou Bceuf is the channel of 



136 SOME LATE WOKDS 

transportation for the planters "by means of barges to Washington, and the 
Crocodile affords means of transportation to the lumbermen. Thu Plaquemiue 
Bruise, the Mallet, the Cane, and the Nez Picjue are line streams, but not 
navigable. The Mermeutau, formed by the Nez Pique and Plaquemiue 
Brul6e, is a fine, navigable stream. Vessels ascend it some 70 miles for lum- 
ber, which is taken to Texas, Havana, and the Mexican ^lorts. Upon these 
streams are found large bodies of timber, suitable for all the purposes of 
building and fencing, and they aftbrd an unfailing supply of water for stock. 
The parish has 230 miles of navigable water. 

IBERIA PARISH. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 

Iberia parish extends from Belle River, east of Grand Lake, to a line run- 
ning from the west end of Lake Peigneur, to the mouth of Petite Ause Bayou. 
It is bounded on the north by Saint Martin's and on the south by Saint 
Mary's; east by Assumption, and west by Vermilicm and La Fayette. Its 
length is about 45 miles. Its widest part is about 20 miles. Much of the eastern 
portion is water and cypress swamp. The tillable land along the west side 
of the Morgan Railroad and the Teche, from the parish line below^ Jeauner- 
ette to New Iberia, called the An Large prairie, has a width of about 6 miles, 
and it is a little wider above, between the railroad and Lake Peigneur ; the 
land from the line where the railroad enters the parish below Jeaunerette to 
the line where it leaves it, west of Lake Tasse, is about 20 miles in extent. 
All the land is tillable between Lake Peigneur and Lake Tasse and in the 
great bend of the Teche northeast of New Iberia. There is a sheet of tillable 
and fine grazing land south of Lake Peigneur. The Teche is lined with 
plantations nearly the entire distance from the entrance into the parish of 
Iberia, east of Lake Tasse, to the line where it leaves the parish, below 
Jeannerette. 

The portion of the parish that borders on Grand Lake is a dense cypress 
swamp, and bordering on this swamp there is a growth of gum, ash, oak, and 
other timber. The tillable laud opposite and above Jeannerette is 2 or 3 
miles in width. Around the great bend of the bayou above, called Fausso 
Pointe, the tillable laud has a much greater width. The lands in all parts of 
this parish are rich. On the west side of the bayou there is a scarcity of wood- 
land, and on the east side is an abundance of cypress and wood for sugar- 
making . 

THE TECHE AND ITS SCENERY. 

From the point where the Teche enters the parish of Iberia, about 5 miles 
below St. Martinville, by the windings of the bayou, to New Iberia, the dis- 
tance is about 25 miles. This portion of the bayou is extremely beautiful. Its 
banks are generally 18 feet above tide-water, and they descend gently to the 
edge of the water an angle of less than 30 degrees. 

THE AU LARGE PRAIRIE. 

This is a stretch of land south and west of New Iberia, and a more beautiful 
prairie country is seldom or never seen, and is cultivated principally in sugar. 

AROUND NEW IBERIA. 

The more we circulate over this country of which New Iberia is the trading 
center, the more we are impressed with its beauty and its value for farming 
purposes. It is a lovely and wonderful country. The sea breezes roll over it 
and give health and long life to its inhabitants. Its climate is a medium be- 
tween the tropical and the north temperate, combining most of the advan- 
tages of both, and the evils of neither. Steamers from New Orleans and ves- 
sels from the ocean penetrate its very centers, and the cars of the Southern 
Pacific Railroad, connectiug Now Orleans and the Pacific coast, pass through 
it daily. 

ORANGE ISLAND. 

Orange Island, now the property of the great artist, Mr. Joseph Jefferson, was 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 137 

formerly called Millers Island. It bounds Lak(i Peiyneur on the south, and lies 
in a curve of the lake, which has the sliapo of a new moon. The hi<>'hest ])oiiit 
of the island is 75 feet above the level of the lake and 84 feet above the level 
of the Gulf of Mexico. It has hills, valleys, level and inclined planes, and 
from its bluff banks in places, the branches of the trees hang out over the 
waters of the lake. 

Orange Island is in a line with Petite Anse, Grand Cote, and Cote Blanche 
Islands. Each is sojiaraied from the neighboring island by a distance of 
nearly 6 miles. 

Orange Island rises above the level of the surrounding prairie and the lake, 
as the other islands rise above and overlook the surrounding sea marsli. But 
a short distance off llo-ws the Petite Anse Bayou, di'aiuing the neighboring 
country, and emptying into the Gulf, 10 miles below the island. The con- 
stant sea breeze renders the spot healthy and pleasant as a residence. There 
is on this island Avhat is claimed, and I have no right to doubt, the oldest 
orange grove in this country. Many of those trees are very large, some of 
them a foot in diameter. Mr. Jefferson now has eight orange groves, and 
raises an immense crop of onxnges every year. There are over one thousand 
young and bearing pecan trees. Also cherry, fig, peach, quince, mespi- 
lus, mandarins, lemons, and blue plums. The linest magnolias and live-oaks 
in the world grow on this island. The magnolia grows to an enormous size. 
Mr. Jefferson has enacted a palatial mansion on the elevation overlooking the 
lake, which, with iis surroundings, makes it «ne of the most beautiful houses 
in the United States. Passing from his residence to his boat-house on thelake, 
you go through an avenue of stately live-oaks, a magnolia and orange grove. 
Seen from the smnniit of the bluff", the lake spreads out almost beneath the 
feet of the observer, while the gleam of its silvery surface closes the vista of 
the principal avenues leading fiom the house. Mr. Jefferson has 9,000 acres; 
the soil is very rich, and most of it 'easy of cultivation, producing in one in- 
stance four hogsheads of sugar per acre. He now uses the entire property for 
cattle-grazing, and ]ias ]n'obably 5,000 head. He has a number of fine blooded 
horses and a good collection of registered cattle. He is favorably impressed 
with the Holsteins; has watched some for five years to note the effects of the 
climate, and is very well pleased, and will go more extensively into the breed 
hereafter. 

ACADIA PARISH. 

This is a parish cut off from south St. Landry about two years ago. Noth- 
ing need be given in the jvay of description, additional to what has been said. 
Its parish site is Crowley, a new and very "live" town, and very well known 
North and West. 
Rayne is a bright and beautiful town lately sprung into great activity through 
one and another influence. Acadia is full of the influences of the large cap- 
ital, and vitalizing effects of the new spirit that has come so forcibly to south- 
west Louisiana within the last few years. 



We now take up the "Alluvial Lands," still quoting from Col. 
Harris' handbook : 

ASCENSION, IBERVILLE, ST. JAMES, ST. JOHN, ST. CHARLES 



AND JEFFERSON PARISHES. 



These parishes lie on both banks of the Mississippi river and extend from 
the city of New Orleans to the Baton Rouge parishes, having a double river 
front of about 125 miles. On the west bank of the river they are traversed by 
the New Orleans and Pacific Railroad, and on the east by the Mississippi Val- 
ley road. The soil of these parishes is alluvial and the principal prodiicts 
sugar and rice. St. James is noted as the Perique tobacco parish, although this 
valuable product may be grown on any of the lands in this section. The prin- 



138 SOME LATE WOEDS 

cipal towns in these parishes are Donaldsonville, Plaquemine, St. James, Ed- 
gard, Hahnville and Jefferson. There are many other Tillages and public 
steamboat landings along the river, but steamboats generally deliver and re- 
ceive freight direct at each plantation landing. 

The climate on this coast is verv fine, the weather during the greater part 
of the year is most delightful, and the healthfulness is conceded oy all prac- 
ticing physicians. The average duration of human life is as long here as any- 
where else in the United States. The winters are like Indian summers, and 
spring generally opens in February with blossoms on the peach and plum 
trees and blackberry bushes. Roses bloom throughout the eutire winter. The 
heat of summer is moderated by the refreshing breezes from the lakes and 
river, and the nights are generally pleasant. 

The lands being alluvial, formed gradually from deposits left by the sedi- 
ment brought down the Mississippi and other rivers, are the richest in the 
world. They are highest on the banks of streams, from which they slope ott' 
into the wooded lands in the rear, which are generally swamps. Hence the 
distinction between "front" and "back" lands. Here and there will be 
found a ridge or belt of high land, covered with a variety of magnificent trees 
and a thick undergrowth of canes and climbing vines, and sometimes can be 
found an Indian mound, made of shells from the neighboring lakes. The 
front lands are mostly cleared and cultivated for two or three miles back. 
The cleared part of ridges is also cultivated. The principal forest growth is 
cypress, oak, ash, gum, maple, elm, hackberry, willow and cottouwood. 

The price of laud varies according to location and improvement. 

The religion of the oldest settlers who speak French and of their descend- 
ants is Catholic. 

There are public schools, besides private schools, in every village. 

There are many beautiful and profitable orange orchards. Pecan trees fur- 
nish an abundance of delicious nuts, while Japan and other plums and figs 
grow in great luxuriance and abundance. Peaches, grapes, pears, bananas, 
persimmons, strawberries, blackberries, dewberries and mulberries all do 
well. Com and potatoes grow abundantly. Of vegetables, the choicest in the 
land can be seen growing in summer and winter. 

Horses, mules, cows, sheep, goats and hogs thrive well. Sheep and hogs 
especially are easily kept, multiply rapidly and are profitable. Grazing facil- 
ities are great ; as the winters are never very severe, grass does not entirely 
die out. Excellent hay can be made from the uativ* grasses. 

A better place for a vegetable garden and track path can hardly be im- 
agLued. Winter, summer, spring and fall gardens can be, and are, planted 
here, and there is no month nor week in the year when the gardener cannot 
be gathering his harvests. To give a list o^ all th© vegetables that can be 
successfully and profitably raised here, would l)e to print the catalogue of the 
most complete garden seed establishment in the country. No hot-houses are 
required to produce many of our North summer's regetables in the very mid- 
dle of winter, and a ready market for all that can be raised is always near at 
hand. 

This is the land of milk and honey. Flowers abound. Bees do splendidly 
and require but little care. In this semi-tropical clime they can gather their 
harvests from flowers all the year. No man is exctisable in this region for not 
adorning his home with a robe of beauty. Almost every flower and shrub and 
flowering tree known to the zone, from the lofty magnolia — which gives a 
charm to any scene where it grows — to the delicate violet, flourishes here. 
Many residences are literally embowered in blooming trees, shrubbery, vines 
and flowers. A hundred varieties of the rose can be raised to make the air 
fragrant, from January to June, and then again from June to January. 

Perhaps there is not a spot in the world where the dairy business can be 
conducted with such profit as here. Cows do well and give a large quantity 
of milk all the year on the range alone. 

There is no land in the world where poultry raising is so easy and profitable 
an occupation as in this section of the Mississippi valley. Turkeys, geese, 
ducks, chickens, Guinea fowls, pigeons, etc., here thrive and increase with- 



ABOUT LOCriSIAITA. 139 

out expense to the owner ; wid besides snpplying his table, enable Mm to 
dispose of a large niunber each year to market. • 

The lakes, bayous, ponds and rivers furnish a constant supply of different 
kinds offish. The fields and Troods afford fine sport to the huntsman. Hares, 
squirrels, raccoons, and many varieties of birds are plentiful, while sometimes 
a deer or bear is met with. 

The plantation drainage Is effected by open ditches and canals running 
back from the river to lower land in the rear, or into some one of the numer- 
ous bayous, which form a network all over the alluvial region. 

The decks of the passing steamboats afford a view of the growing crops of 
sugar cane and rice and the residences of the planters, surrounded by live 
oaks and orange trees, that is very attractive to the traveler. 

In addition to the lands along the river, the bayou banks are cultivated to 
the depth of from one to two miles back. 

In the rear of the arable lands are dense forests of cypress, oak, ash, gtun 
and other valuable timbers. 

The cypress is utilized by the planters to make coolers, hogsheads, barrels, 
cisterns, shingles and general lumber. Up to this time no other use is made 
of the remaining valuable forest growth, except burning it for fuel. 

iLSOENSION PAKISH 

Is almost all alluvial ; the portion fronting on the Mississippi river is identi- 
cal in character with that of the " coast" of Iberville ; the parish is adapted 
to su^ar, rice and cotton, and the lands highly productive. The parish town, 
Donaldsonville, is a thriving village of about 2000 inhabitants, and at one 
time was inclined to dispute precedence with New Orleans and Baton Rouge. 

By far the larger portion of this parish lies east of the Mississippi river. 

The river front, from one to three miles back, is occupied by some of the 
finest sugar plantations in the State. 

The land on this side of the river is generally alluvial, but on the northern 
boundry there is a strip of bluff' land, three or four miles wide and about fif- 
teen miles in length. 

The New river, Amite and Manchao, are thickly settled with small farmers, 
•who are industrious and thrifty. 

EBERYILLB PAKISH 

lies between the Bayon Grosse Tete and the Mississippi river on the east, and 
the upper Grand river and its chain of lakes and bayous bordering the parish 
of St. Martin on the West. It is wholly alluvial ; belts of cultivatable and 
highly productive lands lie along most of the bayous to the depth of one-half 
to two miles, especially in the northern portion, along Bayous Grosse Tete, 
Maringuin and Deglaize. 

In the southern part of the parish, along lower Grand river and its tributa- 
ries, bayous Pigeon and Sorrel, the lands have been partially cleared, and 
are of fine qiiality, but the overflows prevent their occupation to a great ex- 
tent. Bayou Plaquemine, connecting Grand river with the Mississippi, is a 
large navigable stream, and is thickly settled along both of its banks. The 
court-house town of Plaquemine has a flourishing business in the shipment of 
agricultural produce and (cypress) lumber. 

The " coast" of Iberville is remarkable for the highly improved condition 
and great extent of its plantations, there being many handsome residences, 
surrounded by parks of live oak and pecan trees. Cleared lands lie also along 
Bayou Goula and Manufactory Bayou, extending back almost to Lake Natch- 
ez by which they are thoroughly drained. 

ST. JAMES PARISH, 

north of the river resembles more the river parishes further north than those 
of the Delta plain proper. The highlands near the river are highly produc- 
tive and densely settled, and mostly occupied by sugar plantations. North- 
ward of this belt the drainage is toward Lake Maurepas, through Bayou des 



140 SOME LATE WOEDS 

Acadiens and Mississippi Bayon, which headed a few miles ftom the main 
river. The belt of mareh land fringing the shores of Lake Manrepas is 
only from three-quarters to one mile wide, and the land along the bayous 
south of the rivers ; the cultivated border belt of the usual width of from two 
and a half to three miles is somewhat abruptly terminated by the marsh pra- 
iries that border the Lake des Allemands, whith thence extend westward as a 
belt about six miles in width, a little beyond the principal meridian of the 
survey, about half way between the river and Bayou Lafourche. 

ST. CHARLES PAEISH 

has many geographical advantages, and is partially bounded on different 
sides by three lakes of considerable size, namely : Ponchartrain, Des Alle- 
mands and Salvador, the last two being connected by Bayou Des Allemands. 
The distance by river from its court-house to the present upper limits of New 
Orleans is about twenty miles. The means of communication between the 
two points are many and comfortable. 

There are several saw mills in the parish, from which large quantities of 
cypress lumber are furnished. The making of pickets, clapboards, shingles, 
hogsheads and barrels gives employment to many. 

The facilities for the transportation of freight or passengers is good. Three 
railroads from New Orleans pass through the parish, namely : the Donald- 
sonville, the Morgan and Chicago railroads. The Mississippi river, the lakes, 
and Bayous Des Allemands, afford facilities lor water crafts. The public road 
along the river puts the planter who is on horseback or in a buggy within 
easy access of the city of New Orleans. 

At Bayou Des Allemands many men do handsomely by hunting, and in the 
winter months large number of wild ducks are shipped to New Orleans from 
this poiut. The gathering and curing of moss, the cutting and marketing of 
wood aiibrds profitable employment. Soil in the vicinity of the river is well 
adapted to the manufacture of bricks and common pottery. 

ST. JOHN PARISH, 

reaching southward to Lake des Allemands and its bordering marshes, while 
to the northward it embraces the neck of land that separates Lakes Ponchar- 
train and Maurepas, is, in most respects, siniihir to St. Charles. Between the 
main river and Lake Maurepas, it comprehends a fine expanse of agricultu- 
ral laud of great productiveness and in a ]ii,ij;li state of cultivation. Fields of 
sngar cane and market gardens occupy most of the cultivatable lands in the 
parLsh. The region between the two lakes is partly cypress swamp, partly 
marsh prairie, rendered almost impenetrable by a thick undergrowth of saw 
palmetto. The prairie on the border of Lake Ponchartrain is partly of the 
" trembling " character, which is perceptible even to the passer-by on the 
great highway — the New Orleans and Chicago Railroad — that traverses it. A 
few cultivated spots and settlements exist in this region also. 

JEFFERSON PARISH 

stretches from Lake Pontchartrain on the north to the head of Barataria Bay 
on the gulf coast. Most of the tillable lands lie in the northern portion along 
the Mississippi river, just west of, as well as opposite to the city of New 
Orleans. The relatively high banks of the Mississippi, on which the towns of 
Algiers and Gretna are located, form a dividing ridge, from t'Ae south side of 
which the water drains southward through Bayou Barataria and its connec- 
tions into Barataria Bay. On the higher land accompanying this bayou, as 
well as Bayou Dauphine or Des Families, there are some fine sugar planta- 
tions, although the tillable lands are of little depth, and from about the 
junction of the two bayous, near the eastern end of Lake Washa, the marsh 
prairie closes in upon their banks. 

In the southern portion, the surface of the parish is almost entirely covered 
by swamp, marsh prairie and sea marsh, traversed by an intricate network of 



ABOUT LOUISIAi^^A. 141 

bayOTU and dotted "with lakes, resorts of fishermen and duck-huutera only. 
Numerous shell-heaps form the only elevations in the level plain. 

Thiough Company Canal, light-dranijht steamers and other craft can pass 
tsoxa the Mississippi, near Algiers, into Bayou Barataria, and Harvey's Canal 
establishes similar communication farther west. Barataria Bayou is navi- 
gahle, and through its connections the waters of the Gulf are reached without 
diffloulty. 

The shore of Lake Pontchartrain, at the northern end of the parish, is bor- 
dered with four to fire miles of marsh prairie, whose landward limit is marked 
by a belt of live oak, forming the background of the landscape as seen from 
the river. The lands intervening between the live oak belt and the river are 
thioUy settled and highly productive. 

ASSUMPTION, LAPOUBCHE AND TERREBONNE PARISHES. 

These parlshea lie west of the Mississippi river. They extend from near 
DonaldsonviUe to the Gulf of Mexico. The Bayou Lafourche, which Hows out 
of the Mississippi river at Donaldsonville, passes through the entire length of 
Assumption and Lafourohe to the Gulf, about one hundred miles to the south- 
east. 

To the south and west of these parishes is the parish of Terrebonne, extend- 
ing along the Gulf of Mexico from Timbalier Bay on the east to Atchafalaya 
Bay on the west, a distance of over seventy miles. It lins for its northern 
and eastern boundaries the parish of Lafourche and a portif)n of Assumption, 
while on the west it is bounded by the parish of St. Mary and the Atchafalaya 
Bay and river. The parish covers an area of about 1,584 square miles and was 
originally settled by Acadians about the year 1765. A large portion of the 
land lying along the gulf is sea marsh, and, therefore, not available for agri- 
cultural purposes unless properly drained. In the northern portion of the 
parish, however, will be found a very sxiperior quality of alluvial soil, which 
18 wonderful in its productive capacities and is extensively cultivated. In 
this section, in the vicinity in the town of Houma, the surface of the earth 
is about eleven feet above tide- water, and by means of numerous bayous is 
readily drained. 

The arable land of these parishes is all alluvial. A part is sandy loam, 
another black stiff soil with no sand, and a combination of these two. The 
sandy soil is lighter and more easily worked; but the stiif land ripens cane 
earlier and is more adapted to rice culture. The mixed soil combines the 
good qualities of both. 

The prevailing religion in this section is the Roman Catholic ; but churches 
of all denominations, as well as public and private schools, are established in 
every village. 

The people of this section are generally intelligent, educated and refined. 
All classes ar6 kind and hospitable. 

Bayou Lafourche is navigable for about seven months in the year for steam- 
boats and all species of water craft. By it stone, coal, fire brick, hoop-poles, 
sand, lime, lumber from the west, are landed in front of the various sugar 
plantations and towns ; also rafts of saw logs are landed at the saw mills, 
floated from the swamps of upper Louisiana and Mississippi. By the stream, 
either on steamboats during high water, or by flat-boats in low water, a large 
amount of the sugar machinery, etc., necessary in the culture of sugar, and 
merchandise, is brought to the difterent landings, and the crops made are 
transported to market. From the seashore by means of luggers, oysters, 
game, fish, melons, oranges, etc., are brought to the railroad stations for re- 
shipment to the New Orleans market, or peddled along the bayou to the resi- 
dents on either bank. 
•Bayoii des Allemands is a beautiful stream, rising near Donaldsonville, and 
emptying into Lal<;e Salvador, where it is lost in the numerous bays and out- 
lets extending to the Gulf of Mexico. It is navigable for steamboats drawing 
four feet of water, and through it many of the products of Lafourche find an 
outlet to market. This bayou drains all that section of country found between 



142 SOME LATE WORDS 

Bayou Lafourche and tlie Mississippi river as far down as the parish of St. 
Charles. 

Bayou Blue flows from Thibodaux to the Gulf, and from Lake Fields down 
could be rendered navigable. 

Bayous Cliicbey, Choupic, Malogay and Grand Bayou, and various others, 
serve as drains to the country. 

Lake Fields, in the rear of Lockport, and Lake Long in its rear, are beau- 
tiful bodies of water, noted for their excellent fish — such as cat, sac-a-lait, 
perch, buffalo, etc. 

Lake Salvador is a magnificent body of water north of Lockport, and is the 
entrance to one of the most charming body of lakes that lead into the Gulf at 
Grand Pass, that can be found on the globe. 

Lake Alleuiands is a large body of water between Lafourche and St. James. 
These lakes are sujiplied with fish and crabs at all seasons, and during the 
hunting seasons are favorite resting places for the immense flocks of poule- 
d'eau and ducks, that come down from the colder climes of the north. 

Many of the inhabitants actually cloth© and feed their families from the 

froceeds derived from the fowl yards, and in the spring boxes of eggs consti- 
ute the principal down freights of steam packets. 

The soil is admirably adapted to the production of field peas, potatoes (both 
sweet and Irish), pujnpkins, melons and garden truck generally. Figs, plums, 
peaches and oranges are grown successfully in the different localities adapted 
to their nature. 

The uncleared lands are densely covered with the best of timber, among 
which is found the diff"erent varieties of oak, ash, cypress, gum, magnolia, 
maple and wild pecan. The most valuable among these is the cypress, which 
is very durable and extensively used for building purposes, fences, shingles, 
staves and fuel. The number of ornamental trees and evergreens for the 
beautifying of yards and parks is very large, among which the magnolia 

gradi-flora and the majestic live oak, richly deserve the enconiums which have 
een so profusely bestowed by visitants of our State. 

There are large bodies of land in the interior, densely covered with fine 
cypress, at this time a little inconvenient of access, but as the timber now 
near at hand is being rapidly consumed, these swamps in the near future 
must necessarily become very valuable. The timber business offers a laru'e 
field for industry and enterprise, for lower Louisiana of necessity deals largely 
in building materials, pickets, barrel and hogshead staves and shingles. 

A general prejudice prevails among strangers, and grave doubts as to the 
capacity of tlie white race to jjursue agricultural labor during the heat of 
summer. But small farmers hav^e been accustomed to perform their daily 
round of labor as agriculturists without any detriment to their health. As a 
rule, the Creole population are early risers and get through a large poriiou of 
their work in the early part of the day, take a good rest at noon, and finish in 
the evening after the sun has lost some of its force. The health of the labor- 
ing white population will comjiare favorably with that of any other Southern 
State. 

Strangers often express surprise tha.t a flat eountry, in which the cypress 
trees abound, and in which most forest trees are draped with moss, should 
contain so many individuals who have reached the age of three-score and ten. 

The nights are cool, and we are not subjected to the intense heat Avhich, 
during the sauimer, often dei>rives the inhabitants of higher latitudes of re- 
freshing slumber at night. Proximity to the Gulf coast exercises a delightful 
and grateful influence on the heat of summer. 

Owing to the situation of lands on the Lafourche, and the length of time 
the country has been settled (upwards of a century), the inducenumts to emi- 
grants for cheap lands are not so great as those found in some of the highland 
parishes, which possess larger areas of cultivable lands. These can be pur- 
chased at lower prices ; but lands in this section are more fertile and more 
convenient to market, two advantages which should have great weight with 
settlers in a new country. 

In the rear of the front owners small tracts of land can be purchased at rea- 
sonable prices, which possess a soil of equal fertility with the front tracts, 



ABOUT LOmSIANA. 143 

and the additional advantage of having a fine range for stock of all kinds. 
Theae lands are admirably adapted to the wants of farmers on a small scale, 
and 80 great in their fertility that it requires but little work to secure all the 
necessaries of life, its comforts and many of its luxuries. 

The facility for sending produce to New Orleans, the principal market, is equal 
to that of any other country, and the wants of the community are supplied 
directly from that great mart of commerce or the various stores situated on 
the banks of the Lafourche and the interior. 

Steamers which carry the weight of a thousand hogsheads of sugar pass 
daily within hail, and at the same time offer pleasant acconuuodatious for 
travelers Avho are not pressed for time. 

Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad gives quick and direct transporta- 
tion to New Orleans. 

The principal towns are Houma, Napoleonville and Thibodaux, hut both 
banks of the Lafourche are dotted with pretty, thriving villages. 

Both public and private schools are maintained in every village. There are 
separate schools for whitei »nd negroes. 

This section is well supplied with churches, and each denomination can 
attend its own place of worship irithout any inconvenience. Those who be- 
long to the Roman Church are largely in the ascendant in point of numbers, 
and possesses some line houses of worship. Great liberality in religious mat- 
ters prevails, and the different sects cordially unite in the promotion of 
charitable objects. 

There is a constant demand, at remunerative prices, for mechanical engin- 
eers, carpenters, smiths, and field hands. The amount of machinery in su- 
^ar-houses of an extensive character creates a great demaudforthe best talent 
in the repair and supply of engines, vacuum-pans, centrifugals and sugar 
mills. On the efficiency of the machinery necessary to take off a crop of su- 
gar cane depends the success of a whole year's work, and must be done in 
proper time or the planter sufi'ers great loss. 

Several hundred people residing on the lower Lafourche and Terrebonne 
interior lakes earn a comfortable subsistance in transporting oyster, either to 
residents up the Lafourche or by way of the lakes and canals to New Orleans. 
In winter, others follow duck hunting, shooting these migatory birds for the 
New Orleans market and home consumption. 

AVOYELLES, EAPIDES, NATCHITOCHES AND RED RIVER PAR- 
ISHES. 

These parishes extend, in the order named, from the mouth of the Red riv- 
er, along its winding course, for about 3000 miles to the northwest, where it 
enters Caddo parish. 

The formation of Avoyelles is allnvial, except a small amount of paririe. 

The Soil of Rapides, Natchitoches and Red River is alluvial along tlie 
streams, but the greater portion of the land lies in long leaf pine hills and 

good uplands. Facilty for reaching market is afforded by Red river and New 
irleans and Pacific Railroad. 

The principal towns are Marksville, Alexandria, Natchitoches and Cou- 
shatta. The arable alluvial lands of. 

AVOYELLES PARISH 

lie along the numerous bayous with which it is cut up. These lands are un- 
surpassed by any in the Mississippi Valley, and have attracted farmers from 
other Southern States, who live by the sweat of their brows, and are steadily 
growing rich in their new homes. 
The Hon. H. Skip with writes as follows of the prairie in this parish : 
" Penetrating the parish from Sinmisport to Moreauville, the entire route 
upon nearly the same level, a stranger who emerges from the swamp and sees 
for the first time the Maksville prairie towering fifty feet above him, present- 
ing to his astonished vision the appearance of frowning battlements of some 
venerable fortress, at first view it seems as though an impassible barrier to 



144 SOME LATE WORDS 

his further progress lias been conjured up by some wonderful upheaval of 
nature ; but aa he draws uearer and scans the marks of uiiquestionable an- 
tiquity, and winds his devious way until he finds a road almost as steep as 
the Tarpeian rock, awe and wonderment give place to curiosity. 

" This prairie — eight miles from east to west, and eighteen miles from 
north to south — has u]ion it some venerable landmarks, and about 18,000 a eres 
of very fair land, which, under a system of rather negligent tillage, has been 
steadily increasing in productive capacity, it being a common remark among 
the close observers in the parish that the prairie is now more fertile than when 
it was first settled, somewhere between 17G8and 1784, by a number of Acadian 
families who fied from the floods which were spread over Pointe Coupee. It 
was also the site of the old post of Avoyelles, and it is still the home of the 
feeble remnant of the tribe of Tunicas which was once strong enough to wage 
war with the Natchez and hold them in check. Along the eastern margin of this 
prairie, the Red river once flowed, and upon its northeastern margin, almost 
within the corporate limits of Marksville, are still to be seen the well-defined 
lineaments of an earthwork, crescent in form, too laboriously constructed and 
too skillfully laid off to warrant the opinion that it was the work of any sav- 
age tribe. 

" Just south of Choupique — a remarkable elevation of plateau, five miles 
in length and three miles wide — is another of these astounding revelations to 
the traveler, rising suddenly out of the swamp seventy-five feet. The soil of 
this prairie is fertile, and almost as productive as the alluvions which envi- 
ron it." 

EAST CARROLL, MADISON, TENSAS, CONCORDIA, POINTE COUPEE 
AND WEST BATON ROUGE PARISHES. 

These are all alluvialparishes and famous for their fertility. East Carroll, 
according to the United States Census of 1880, has a larger yield of cotton 
per acre than any other county in the Southern States. This parish is in the 
extreme northeast corner of the State, bounded north by the southern line of 
Arkansas on parallel 33^ and east by the Mississippi river. 

The other parishes lie due south of East Carroll, in the order named above, 
and extend along the west bank of the Mississippi river, a distance of more 
than two hundred and fifty miles. 

The whole body of land contained in these parishes is probably unsurpassed 
for fertility by any in the world. Prior to the war, when the levees were 
secure, arable lands were worth from $50 to f 125 per acre. They can now be 
bought from $5 to $25 per acre. 

This depreciation in value is due to the unstable condition of the levees.* 
All of these parishes have been devastated with periodical floods since the 
war, and although not overflowed every year, the back lands are considered 
unsafe for extended planting operations. The entire river front is cultivated 
in the staple crops of the State. West Baton Rouge and Pointe Couj)ee pro- 
duce sugar as well as cotton, while the parishes northward grow cotton only 
as a money crop. 

The highest land lies upon the bank of the river and the drainage is to the 
rear, the lands becoming lower until they reach the wooded swamp two or 
three miles back. These swamps are covered with a heavy growth of cyjiress, 
oak, ash and gum, and must soon again become valuable for their timber, 
which is available in the summer and fall, although covered with water in 
winter and spring. 

The field for speculation in lumber is open to the capitalist familiar with 
the business. From June until December the swamps are sufliciently dry to 
admit hauling with the aid of ox teams and timber wheels.. From February 
until May, when the crevasse water inundates the swamps, it is sufficiently 
deep to admit of floating the timber, t Portable saw mills might be con- 
structed at convenient points. Lumber is in great demand, and none equals 

•This condition of affairs is now supposed to be permanently changed. ' 

tThe crevasse water may be considered a thing of the past. The levee system now gives 
the whole front of the Miasissippi river in Louisiana protection. 



ABOTTT LOUISIAIfA. 145 

5 — 

that made from C3rpre889 for building purposes- It is worth from $15 to $30 
per 1000 feet, according to quality. Cypress staves for barrels and hogsheads, 
Bhingles and three-foot boards, pieux or pickets are always in demand and 
comanand good prices. The quality and durability are superior to those made 
of any other kind of timber. 

The planters of this section are generally educated and refined. They are 
hospitable and generous. 

The negroes who vastly outnumber them, are now a happy, docile and con- 
tented people. The " aavpet bagger," whose political preferment was the 
fiuit of the seeds of dissension, assiduously sown among the blacks, has long 
since departed. 

The country sites of these parishes are Lake Providence, Eichmond, St. 
Joseph, Vidalia, New Roads and Port Allen. There are hundreds of village 
landings along this long stretch of river, and steamboats, which are nearly 
always in sight, will land at any plantation. 

This is, without doubt, the easiest country in which to live well. The 
earth, with only half cultivation, yields all field, garden and orchard pro- 
ducts, all domestic animals increase and fatten on the wild growth of the 
forest and pasture, and game and fish can be taken when wanted. 

Both Catholic and Protestant churches are in every parish, and separate 
public and private schools for whites and blacks. West Baton Rouge and 
Pointe Coupee are intersected by the New Orleans and Pacific Railroad, and 
Madison is crossed from east to west by the Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pa- 
cific Railroad, ; 

In addition to the money crops of sugar and cotton, all of the field crops of 
the North grow to perfection. 

Corn is raised by all planters and tenants. In new land it produces very 
large crops — 75 bushels to the acre — the yield generally is from 20 to 40 bush- 
els, according to the land, culture and season. Corn raised here is more 
wholesome than that brought from the Western States. Stock fed on it is 
rarely, if ever, made sick ; whereas. Western corn often produces colic with 
mules and horses, resulting in loss. The seed is sown from the 30th of Feb- 
ruary to the 1st of May. But late corn planted in June and Jiily often does , 
as well ;. much depends upon the season. If the soil is kept loose and well 
pulverized at the roots, and thrown up in hills at the foot of the, stock, it will 
never suffer from drouth and never fire. 

Cow peas are planted in corn lands about the middle of May. The vines 
run over the ground and cover it by the month of August with a thick 
foliage, so dense and runners so thick that the rays of the sun never pene- 
trate. In September and early in October these vines and leaves are <'nt or 
raked up, and after several days of exposure and drying are housed or stacked 
for hay. It makes a healthy feed for stock ; they keep fat on it during the 
winter and relish it to the end. The culture of the pea has another ad- 
vantage. It renews the ground and returns to it all the nutritious substance 
taken from it by the sugar cane, the cotton or corn stock. Hence, it is con- 
sidered to be the best, cheapest and most reliable fertilizer. 

The richest and most delicate nut in the world is the pecan. The tree 
reaches an enormous size, its trunk measuring fifteen feet in circumference, 
its height reaching one hundred and twenty-five feet, its shade at noon-day 
covering a circle of one hundred and fifteen feet in diameter. For grandeur 
and magnificence it is the peer among the many fine specimens of vegetation 
in Louisiana. It will bear the seventh year after its growth, very few nuts 
at first, but increasing annually. They were in great demand immediately 
after the war and sold for high prices. A planter in West Baton Rouge sold 
for $500 worth of pecans in 1865, gathered from thirty odd trees. One tree 
bore five barrels, which sold for $35 per barrel. The same pecans last season 
brought from $12 tto $15 per barrel. 

Considering the little care that is taken of live stock, it is surprising that 
it should increase as it does. Few indeed have attempted to improve the 
breed. Cows and their calves, even in the winter time, are rarely fed. In 
the fall, generally not before December, cold weather does but little damage 
to vegetation. The usual length of winter is from December 1 to the 15th of 



146 BOMB LATE WOEDS 

February. Dnring these montha cattle r©quir« but verv little feeding : they 
find sustenance on the fat accumulated in the preceding autumn. If the 
planter resides in near proximity to a cane-hrake, where switch canv grows 
wild, or where his etock may range in the open woods, then he may be certain 
that by the approach of spring they will return without losing a pound of 
flesh. These lauds yield an average of 500 or 600 pounds of lint cotton or 
forty bushels of corn to the acre under proper cultivation. The owners are 
prosperous and the laborers contented. There has been little, or no political, 
or social disturbance here. The races are on the best of terms ; the relations 
of employer and employe are well-defined and satisfactory. Altogether, the 
cultivated and the overflowed districts present about as vivid a contrast as 
can be formed with prosperity and desolation. 

The proprietors pi ant in three diiferent ways — the wage, the share, and the 
tennant plan. The wages for regular hired labor averages seventy-five cents 
per day, the laborer buying his owu supplies. The share laborer receives 
land, dwelling, team, tools, seed, fire-wood, and every necessary to make a 
crop, and gives half of what he makes to the proprietor. The tennant rents 
land, furnishes his own team, etc., and pays the owner eighty pounds of lint 
cotton per acre as rent. These three plans, eo different in detail, all come to 
about the same thing in the end, except in the cases of some exceptionally 
thriftv teunants. The day labor, counting in extra wages in chopping and 
pickine; time, makes about $250 per annum, and this is substantially what the 
share labores and average tennant make. There are instances where tennants, 
by intelligence, industry and economy have accumulated an independence 
and are well-to-do. White men can do this, but the average negro never 
thinks of to-morrow, and he is consequently a mere hand-to-mouth, though 
comfortable liver at all times. This is the fault of the individiial, however, 
and not of the system. The system is liberal enough — far more than the 
system in any other agricultural country. It offers to honest industry and 
intelligent thrift, the finest promise that is offered anywhere in the civilized 
world to men without capital. The share laborer on the great cotton planta- 
tions can without any capital except that of his naked miiscle, earn as good 
living and as large a pot for a raiuj' day as the farmer in England with $1000 
in money to start with — yes larger. 

The hackneyed old fable that white men cannot do field-work in the South 
ought to be exploded by this time, especially when statistics show that three- 
fifths of the cotton produced in the United States is produced by white 
labor. 

Immigrants are wanted here, and they will receive a cordial welcome 
wlu'thcr capitalists or laborers. Small capitalists could make syilendid in- 
vestments at this time, and no man who desires to work at fair wages need 
bo idle for one day. Parties who wish to work on shares are furnished with 
comfortable houses, team, tools, firewood and a garden spot free of charge, 
and those wlio wish to lease are offered every facility, and advances are made 
to thorn on tlio most reasonable terms ; in fact, a man can come here wifhont 
a (lolhir. and lease land, purchasing mules and tools and get his snp]ilios ad- 
vanced liim for the year on credit, and if ho is any account can at least make 
his living and ]iay for his team and tools the first year, and after that his 
success depends upon himself, for it is assured, if he will doliis duty. Fertil- 
izers are used to a very limited extout, but experience has proven that whoa 
used, the results have been splendid, and pay a very handsome jirofit. 

Before quoting from Hou. Win. H. Harris' work on Louisi- 
ana as to the parishes of 

PLAQUEMINES AND ST. BERNARD, 

we wisU to say a brief word by way of introduction. These par- 
islies are inhabited by some of the most cultured and influential 
of our citizens. No other portion of our Scate can show lovelier 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 147 

homes, more sumptuous surroundings, more lavish, yet high-bred 
hospitality. 

The area is par excellence the orange belt of the State, and, we 
tkink, of the United States, for nowhere are finer orauges raised. 

The Shell Beach and Gulf Eailroad is extending vegetable- 
raising greatly by reason of its facilities for shipping early veg- 
etables; and the business of raising them and melons is exiiand- 
ing almpat to the Gulf, on the river. This is going to be an in- 
dustry of enormous proportions, and is growing with astounding 
rai)idity. It is well worth a ride over the railroad, in early spring, 
to see the prodigious area planted, and their variety and quality. 

On the right bank of the river, a railroad will soon be built to 
Grand Isle; and will open up the grand surf of that locality to 
the lovers of bathing. 

Shooting and fishing are superb in both parishes. The oysters, 
crabs, shrimp, turtles, terrapins of the locality are unsui passed. 

We now quote from Col. Harris : 

" These parishes lie east and southeast of Ne-vr Orleans and are in the main 
sea marsh. Th© Mississippi runs through the entire length of Plaquemines, 
from New Orleans to the jetties. 

Nearly all of the cultivable portion of this parish lies along both banks of 
the Mississippi river, within sixty miles of its northern parochial boundaries, 
or above the Forts Jackson and St. Philip. 1'he lands below the points 
designated, or along the last forty miles of the river and passes being low, 
unprotected by levees, and subject to frequent tidal overflow from the gulf, 
are unfit for cultivation without artificial drainage and levees. 

The land is arable along the river above the forts named, at an average 
distance or "depth" from either bank of about one-half mile. 

The population of this parish live and its productions are grown almost 
exclusively withia this region of sixty sqiiare miles. A small proportion of 
its inhabitants live at the pilot villages and marine stations on Pass-a-rOu- 
tre, Southwest and South passes, while a few of its people dwell ujion the 
" chenieres" and ridges that rise above the sea marsh or upon the low sand 
islands of the coast. 

About four-fifths of the total area of the parish is swamp and sea marsh, a 
portion of which lands may be reclaimed at a remote date, but of which the 
greater part is covered with the " Marais Tremblante" or floating prairie. 

There is comparatively little timber country La Plaquemines. That which 
remains is the live oak on the isolated chenieres and cypress in deep swamps. 

Sugar plantations, stocked in cane and drained by means of machinery, 
and bearing orange groves, command from flOO to |506 per square acre. 

The rice lands are freely rented at prices ranging from $7 50 to $10 per 
square acre, or at the rate of a barrel and a half or two barrels of rough rice 
for every acre planted, payable after the crop has been harvested. °These 
lands are generally already ditched, levied and prepared for irrigation. 
Lands suitable for cultivation in cane, corn or garden truck, thoroughly 
ditched and deeply drained by steam machinery, command from $10 to $30 
per acre, on annual leases. Probably longer leases could be obtained at lower 
figures. Various methods of share-working in the sugar field have been 
tried. That practised to the largest extent is for the landlord to furnish the 
ten*at with ledging, land, setd, teams and implements, in return for which 



148 .SOME LATE WORDS 

the tenant is expected to deliver the cane produced to the landlord's mill or 
manufactory at $2 50 per ton. Where small farmers cultivated cane entirely 
at their own expense, they sell it at the large manufactories at $4 and $5 per 
ton. 

The staple productions of this parish named in the order of their value, are 
sugar, rice, oranges, corn, and farm and garden vegetables. 

Cultivation of the orange has been carried on here since the organization of 
the parochial government. In fact, it is cla iuied that some of the trees in the 
lower part of the parish are over a hundred years old. In the central and 
southern portion of the parish, on the west bank of the river, orange culture 
has been almost uniformly a profitable l)usineKS. The most favored location 
for the tree is on the right bank of the river, from a point forty-tliree miles 
helow New Orleans to a short distance above Fort Jackson. On the thirty 
miles of coast designated there is almost a continuous grove of orange trees. 
The largest solid grove is fifty-seven luiles below New Orleans. This is 100 
acres in extent, and contains 10,000 trees. Another, forty-seven miles below 
the city, is composed of over 4,000 trees. The most productive groves are 
situated in " Biiras settlement," along several miles of the river bank imme- 
diately above Fort Jackson. The annual return from full grown orange 
groves in the favored locations mentioned is from |100 to $200 per acre. The 
hundred acre grove yielded fruit last season which sold for $12,000. Smaller 
groves have often returned more than .$200 per acre. 

Lands planted in bearing orange trees command almost fabulous prices. 
Some of them could not be purchased for $500 per square acre. A full bearing 
grove is not obtained till at least ten years after the seed is planted, unless 
grafted upon sour orange stocks, or from six, seven or eight years after the 
trees have been transplanted from the nursery ; trees in the nursery are worth 
from ten to fifty cents each. During the first three or four years' growth of 
tlie young trees the groves may be planted in crops which are not exhausting, 
though this is considered a doubtful policy. After the trees commence bear- 
ing, little care is required to keep the groves in order, though a degree of in- 
tefligence and skill is required in caring for them which few other fruit trees 
need. 

The most prolific fruit in Plaquemines parish, after the orange, is the fig, 
almost every variety of which grows here in profusion. Excellent peaches 
are also raised. 

The date, lemon, citron and banana, are raised in the lower part of the 
parish. These tropical fruits are, however, very uncertain, and those raised 
are kept for home use by the producers. 

ST. BERNARD 

begins .at the lower limit of the parish of Orleans on the left bank of the 
Mississipj)i river, and has a fi-ont of some fifteen miles on said river, extend- 
ing to the upper line of the parish of Plaquemines ; it then follows the Bayou 
Terre-aux-Brenfs in an easterly direction to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of 
about 100 miles. It also includes Proctorville on Lake Borgne, and the ridge 
known as Lachinche, lying on both sides of the La L'Outre, a small stream 
which fiows into Lake Borgne. 

According to the census of 1880, the population is about 6000, about one- 
half colored. 

The general topography of these parishes is quite similar, and the descrip- 
tion of one ai^idies to the other. 

The Mississi]>]ii Piver and Shell Beach Railroad, from New Orleans to 
Proctorville. affords ample transportation facilities, and ojiens to the public one 
of the most beautiful seabathing resorts in the South. It is a great boon to 
New Orleans. By means of this road, vegetables may be placed in the New 
Orleans market. 

The soil of St. Bernard parish is as rich as any in the State, the area of 
arable lanil is about 2.5,000 square acres, and easily drained, being formed by 
ridges on both sides of the Terre-aux-Boeufs and La L'Outre Bayous, sloping 
gently towards the cj^press swamp on either side. There are many small 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 149 



streams which flow into the nnmereous bays and lakes along the gulf coast, 
which serve as outlets to carry off surplus water. 

Along the Mississippi river and small water courses, the surface ia a rich, 
sandy soil, toward the cypress swamp the soil is rich, clay loam. 

The crops at present raised are sugar cane, corn, rice, oranges, and some 
cotton, on the Bayou La L'Outre, especially the sea island, which grows lux- 
uriantly and yields generally from one to one and a half bales. All kinds of 
vegetables are also raised in large quantities for the New Orleans market. 

The largest portion of that part of the parish lying on the Terre-aux-Boeufs 
and La L'Outre is cut up into small farms, where vegetables are raised. There 
are twentv sugar plantations in the parish. 

The Shell Beach Railroad runs southeast through the cane fields and orange 
groves to the salt surf resort on Lake Borgne.*" 



MISCELLANEOUS. 

There are a few parishes that, for one reason and another, we 
have not been able to put them into any other category than that 
of miscellaneous. This is as fit a placing as could be, as their 
lands are of several descriptions—" bluff," " good uplands,'' 
" alluvial," etc. 

CALDWELL AND MOREHOUSE PARISHES. 

These parishes are in Northeast Louisiana, t and lie along the banks of the 
Ouachita, from the northern line of Catahoula on the south, to the State of 
Arkansas on the north. Their topographical features are very similar, the 
general formation being allu-\a;il along the streams, and all the elevated 
lands being classed as " good uplands," except the western third of Caldwell, 
which extends into the long leaf pine hills. Most of Western 

CALDWELL 

is a rough, broken, pine country, cut up by the several branches of Bayou 
Castor. On the dividing ridge, between Bayou Castor and Washita river, the 
country is broken and ridgy, especially near the Washita, running, in the 
main, parallel to that river, on which they occasionally form precipitous 
bluffs, t These ridges have a dark-colored, loamy soil, giving evidence of the 
presence of lime by the absence of the long-leaf pine, and the prevalence of 
the better class of upland oak, hickory, wild plum and red haw or thorn. The 
best of this kind of country is in the neighborhood of Grandview. Between. 
Grandview and Columbia there is a prairie (Prairie Du Cote) about a mile in 
diameter, almost round, and with a yellow loam soil. The soil is very fertile 
and is treeless, except a few hawthorn bushes. East of the Washita riA^er ia 
mainly the alluvial bottom, subject to overflow, except a long, narrow ridge 
of upland that runs down between Washita and Bceuf rivers, reaching nearly 
to their junction. 

MOREHOUSE 

includes more varieties of land than any other parish in the State. It has 
some cypress swamps, some lowlands or alluvial bottoms, pine lands, uplands 
and even prairie. The bottoms are the most abundant, and cover about two- 

•And now to Bohemia, below Pointe-a-la-Hache, the parish seat. 
tThe peculiar conformation of Louisiana makes two sections of her area northeast. 
{ A long, narrow riflge of the " good uplands, ' ' runs entirely throush the parish, from north- 
west to soutlieast, making a "divide •' between the Washita river and the Bayou Castor. 



150 SOME LATE WORDS 

thirds of the parish, the upland nearly on*-third, while th* prairies amount 
to only a few thousand acres. 

The general topography of the country Is ft ridge, covered with pine, run- 
ning down the centre of the parish from north to south, sloping towards low- 
Innds on eacli side of it. On the west is the Bayou Bartholomew bottom ; on 
the east the l^neuf river bottom, a large portion of which consists of cypress 
ewamjjs, subject to overflow, and therefore very thinly settled and very little 
cultivated. The most prosperous section is along Bayou Bartholomew. The 
country is well settled here, open to trade, in easy commuuication with the 
niurlcets, and not subject to overflow. Here are situated the larger planta- 
tions, as well as many small farms, cultivated by their owners, white men, 
and producing all that is needed in the way of supplies, such as pork, com, 
etc. 

Nearly all the lands in Morehonse are fertile, but there is great diversity in 
their productiveness. The best lands are those of the Bayou Bartholomew 
bottom. Those on Bopuf river are too low and swampy for cultivatiou, wliile 
the uplands, being largely pine and woods, are not as fertile or productive. 

The uplands, however, are good second-rate land, and while they are not 
as prolitic in cotton — producing only about half as miich as the bottoms — they 
are fully as good for corn, and better for fruit, vines, etc. 

Very little cotton is raised on them, except on new lands — com, oats, etc., 
bein«f the usual crops. The hill lands have one advantage, that of not send- 
ing torth as luxuriant a foliage as the bottoms, so that less labor is required 
to keep the crop in order. The common estimate is that a hand can cultivate 
fully 50 per cent, more of uplands than bottom lands. This fact makes the 
hill country a favorite section for raising corn and such crops. 

A very small proportion of the parish is cultivated, not more than one- 
eightli, while one-third could easily be worked with scarcely any expense in 
the way of draining, levees, etc. 

The best planting sections are the Bayou Bartholomew country. Oak Ridge, 
Gum iSwamp and Prairie Mer Rouge, some of which regions boast of one and 
a quarter bales of cotton to the acre. 

In these parishes some land is still held by both the Federal and State gov- 
ernments, mainly in the pine ridge section, where there axe many excellent 
saw mill sites to be purchased. This land is high and healthy, well watered 
and adapted to nearly all kinds of crops, and exceedingly inviting to the new- 
comer. From private parties a great deal of good land can be purchased at 
the rate of $1 per acre. 

The general price of lands, however, is as follows : 

First-class open lands, with good improvements, houses, dwellings, etc., $20 
to |30 per acre. 

First-class wild land, $4 to $6. 

Most of the land is leased by the year, when the prices are : 

For improved lands, in small tracts, one-fourth the crop, or from $5 to $6 
per acre. 

For large plantations, with dwellings, gins, cabins, and all the necessities 
for the thorough cultivation of the soil, from $3 to $4 per acre. 

There is plenty of labor, both for the saw mills, and the farms and planta- 
tions. Agricultural labor on the large plantations is mainly negro, while the 
small farms are cultivated mostly by their owners, white farmers. Wages are 
liberal, but the negroes generally prefer to cultivate on the share system, and 
a majoritv of them work on shares. The receipts of a laborer vary as he 
works well or as the season proves favorable, but the usual estimate is that 
an industrious hand can make from eight to ten bales g£ cotton and from 150 
to 200 bushels of com a year without difficulty. 

The estimated yield of good land per acre is, for excellent alluvial land, one 
bale of cotton per acre, or thirty-five bushels of com, or forty bushels of oats ; 
and for the uplands, ^ to ^ bale. 

There is very little stock-raising, although canebrakes afford an excellent 
range for cattle, while the hill lauds are admirably adapted for sheep. 

This section is well timbered with all the trees known in northern Louis- 
iana and southern Arkansas, among which are pine, cypress, hickory, dog- 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 151 

wood, various kinds of oak, eassafras, sweet gum, osage orange, and black 
walnut. Lumber is abundant and cheap, pine selling at $10 per thousand 
feet, and cypress at from $12.50 to $15. 

Peaches, apples, pears, and plums flourish here. The hill lands are much 
better for fruit raising than the rich bottoms. 

They are admirably adapted for the cultivation of the grape, mans' indi- 
genous varieties of which grow her© luxuriantly in the forests. Among these 
may be mentioned th« grap© called the Battura, which was discovered here 
in abundance by the early French settlers. This grape is of dark blue hue, 
grows near the water's edge, and prospers when it has been covered by over- 
flow, the grapes bursting lorth as soon as the water goes down. 

The larger streams are the Ouachita and Boeuf rivers and Bayou Bartholo- 
mew, all of which are large and navigable a greater portion of the year to 
steamers carrying 1,500 or more bales of cotton. 

There are hundreds of smaller streams, and a number of lakes of the best 
eating fish, the trout, bass, bank, and white perch, cat, and buffalo, and bar 
fish. 

The climate is excellent, and not subject to extremes of heat or oold^ sum- 
mer or winter. Health good, especially in the uplands. 

Schools and churches are maintained in every neighborhood, and more »d- 
ranced institutions of learning are established in Bastrop and Columbia, the 
principal towns. Some of the most cultivated people of the South reside in 
these parishes, and there is no part of America where the immigrant would 
receive better treatment. 

As the parishes of Calcasieu and Cameron are not included in 
the description heretofore given, (as printed by the United States 
Agricultural Department), of the area catalogued as " prairies '' 
by Professor Lockett; and as late Commissioner of Immigration, 
Hon. Wm. H. Harris, in the description of the "Prairie Parishes" 
in the book from which we have so profusely quoted, treats these 
parishes as a group and not separately; and as we have in our 
method, pursued a different plan from the latter, a departure 
from which might be criticised or misconstrued, we place these 
parishes in our " miscellaneous " list. 

OF CALCASIEU 

K 
it is almost superfluous to say anything in the way of commendation. It is 
the focus of the immigration from the West ; and more Western farmers have 
come into her borders within the last three years, than have come into all the 
rest of Louisiana besides. This parish has more than twice the area of any oth- 
er parish. 3,400 square miles. Saint Landry comes next, with 2,276 square 
miles ; and then Cameron with 1,545. But the new parish of Acadia takes 
away a considerable slice of territory from south St. Landjy ; and almost all 
of Cameron is in the '"coast-marsh" area of Locke tt's classification. 

Calcasieu's area of prairie is now greater than that of any other parish ; and, 
in her northern area there is a large belt of very fine pine. Within her 
borders are found five classes of territory : " Prairies, pine hills, pine flats, 
alluvial lands, and coast-marsh," not to emphasize "wooded swamps." 
The parish abounds in streams, and her ''pine hill's" — belt is fairly .veined 
with them. Well towards her western border, the Calcasieu river flows ; run- 
ning from the country north of her upper boundaries into theGulf of Mexico, 
and affording navigation, the year round, for vessels of considerable tonnage 
above Lake Charles. In its flow, this river makes several noble lakes, among 
which, Lake Charles is most notable. This charming lake, with the blue of its 
water, and the green of its fringing forests, looks uke a large turquoise in a 



152 SOME LATE WOEDS 

setting of emeralds. Its banks are bluffs, some of wliich. are of shells. On this 
lake is the parish seat, Lake Charles which town has grown as if touched by 
the wand of Midas. The lumbering busines is immense — there being in the 
vicinity, from six to ton mills manufacturing lumber and shingles. The 
rapid development in many lines, utterly forbids our attempting a description 
of the town. Of late the town has had two noble accessions to her improve- 
ments in educational institutions. Churches and schools are numerous. Her 
population must be nearly, or quite four thousand. 

In Calcasieu parish many new towns have of late been laid out. Jennings 
is oue of them, and is almost entirely populated by Western people. Welch, 
from a little village of scarcely tifty people, a year or two ago, is now a 
thriving one of several hundred. Within a year, there have been started in 
this parish six, or more new towns. Lake Arthur, one of the prettiest places 
anywhere, has come in for its share — two or three towns having been founded 
on its shores 

The streams and lakes of the parish teem with fine fish, and no parish of- 
fers greater attractions to the sportsmen. Near Lake Charles is the prodig- 
eous deposit of sulphur — said to be the largest known. There, petroleum, 
gypsum, limestone, alumn, etc., are found. 

CAMERON. "^ 

This parish is almost totally in the " coast-marsh" area. On its northern 
border are some patches of prairie ; but these are so inconsiderable as to hard- 
ly deserve mention. 

Cameron has not yet had her day. She must await the future, and abide 
her time in patience. She will, doubtless, at some near day, be a busy place 
in canning fish, oysters, and shrimp. Her parish-seat, Leesburg is right on 
the Gulf of Mexico, at the mouth of Calcasieu river ; and it must be that in 
the development that awaits that country, Cameron will be greatly benetiitted 
by a situation that now seems like isolation. If deep water ever comes to 
the mouth of the river, Leesburg will be a great place by reason of 
that alone. When the immigrant takes hold of the coast-marsh, (as he 
will before the next quarter of a century), with its prodigeously ftrtile soil, 
then Cameron parish will come to the front. Great will be the crops of su- 
gar-cane, rice, sea-island cotton, oranges, vegetables etc : while the Gulf will 
aftbrd cheap and delicious food for the agriculturalist, and an inexhaustible 
supply for manufacturing or preserving canned goods. So the sea and the 
laud wiU both pour out their bounteous treasures to this, thus far, disregar- 
ded parish. 

This "coast-marsh" country ought to have more said about it than has 
been. The entire front of Louisiana is on the Gulf of Mexico. Her 
south boundary is water, and her whole length, from east to west 
is gulf-coast. This is an incommensurable advantage, upon which space 
forbids comment. We append a brief description £com Col. Harris' Hand- 
book of Louisiana : 

THE GULF COAST. 

" The Coast line of Louisiana extends from Texas on theyrest at the mouth 
of the Sabine river, to Mississippi on the east at the mouth of Pearl river. 

Locket says : 

It may be divided into two distinct sections, differing from each other in 
manv characteristic respects. 

Tlie first or eastern division lies between Cat Island, near the mouth of 
Pearl river and Atchafalaya bayou, the southwest. These two points are the 
most easterly and most westerly limits respectively of the great delta of the 
Mississippi. The waters of the Mississippi formerly found their way througli 
Manchac bayou. Lake Maurepas, Lake Ponchartrain and the Rigolets into 
Lake Borgne, and thence into Mississippi Sound, at the entrance of which 
is Cat Island. These waters still flow into Atchafalaya Bay through the 
river of the same name. All this part of the coast is extremely irregular, in- 
dented with numerous bays, out up by thousands of lakes and bayous into a 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 153 

labyriuth of peninsulas and islands wliicli it is almost impossible to rep- 
resent, on a map of the scale I have adopted. The j^eueral shape of this part 
of the coast is the arc of a circle, convex outwards. The radins of the circle is 
about .sixty-live geographical miles, and its centre is a few miles to the west- 
ward of the southwest corner of Lake Pouchartrain. This circle crosses the 
narrow neck of land which makes the lower delta, near Forts Jackson and 
.St. Phillip. The whole length of the arc, excluding the lower delta, is one 
hundred and seventy uules. There is a remarkable tendency of the islands 
along this circle to form themselves into groups, convex towards the Gulf, 
and each island partakes of the same shape. 

Among the thousand islands along this coast, is the paradise of the sports- 
man. 

Fish and water-fowl abound in countless thousands. 

The professional hunters and fishermen have built their villages upon these 
islands, and live well with little exertion. Their families are reared without 
the ai<l of physicians and other adjuncts of civilization. Here are found the 
famous Bayou Cook and. Bayou Chalon oysters — sea turtle and crabs. The 
water is thick with shoals of shrimp. 

The fame of these lovely islands, shaded with live oak, orange and banana, 
with its inlets oveillowing with the lucious denizens of the sea, has long since 
gone out to the farlherest ends of the earth." 

The coast front extends through five degrees of longitude in an air line 
over three hundred miles ; thus giving Louisiana imperishable advantages. 

We have thus treated the parishes separately, so as to gratify 
the love of special mention so natural to every locality ; and we 
have given, as far as possible, the views of others instead of our- 
selves, so as to avoid the imputation of bias for or against any 
parish. We have been actuated in this line of conduct, by a most 
studi( d aud calculating motive to please all who are appreciative 
of . legitimate endeavors to perform the arduous and delicate 
duties in the premises. We are, therefore, not chargeable with 
either the understatements or overstatements of the descriptions 
*f these parishes. We have sought subject-matter that would 
naturally be supposed fair, well-informed, impartial. Certainly, 
much of it is above all criticism. Northwest Louisiana has had 
her own say about herself, in the pamphlet from which we have 
first quoted, issued under the auspices of a Northwest Louisiana 
land association. The pamphlet quoted, issued by the United 
States Agricultural Department, may certainly be supposed im- 
partial, and is certainly a glowing tribute to the area in question. 
While the descriptions of Col. Wm. H. Harris' work on Louisiana 
are not so elaborate or balanced as those of the other books 
quoted, they are very cordial, succinct and graphic, and, in many 
instances, are from the pens of citizens of the parishes described, 
and so far are thus protected from any suspicions of derelictness, 
misdescription, or want of information on his part. 



154 SOME LATE WORDS 

. I, 

So that, on the whole, we think we have great reason to con- 
gratulate ourselves that we have had such wide and many-sideil 
sources of information from which to collate our descriptions of 
the parishes. 

A few of the parishes have issued a pamphlet, each, descriptive 
of the merits of their respective areas. At first, we felt inclined 
to quote from these, as to each parish, but soon had to discard 
that idea, because of the difficulty of selecting what to print and 
what to suppress. And, we could never have given satisfaction 
in any case, because of the unreasonableness of the various crit- 
icisms we should have evoked. Then, in some instances, these 
pamphlets are, each, nearly or quite half as large as this book, 
which covers the whole State. So, even a moderate quotation 
from a few of them would have consumed all the space of our 
own pamphlet. In this aspect of the case, we had only one safe 
thing to do ; which was to avoid quoting from any pamphlet de- 
voted solely to a single parish, but to give it the benefit of a men- 
tion here, so that enquirers might obtain it. And this plan is in- 
comparably more advantageous to such parishes as have issued 
pamphlets, since it puts before enquirers all they have to say in 
furtherance of their claims, whereas we could, at best, have only 
given very meagre space to a quotation of them. 

Besides, in various circular-letteri?, heretofore issued to the par- 
i>hes, we tried to incite them to organize in behalf of immigra- 
tion, and to publish propaganda in that regard, by informing them 
that we should issue a pamphlet soon, and that, in it, we would 
call attention to any organizations that should exist, and any 
publications that might be issued. We here and now fulfill that 
promise. There is an organization, with headquarters at Shreve- 
port, Louisiana, that has issued a " Pamphlet Descriptive of the 
paiishes in Northwest Louisiana;" an organization in Union par- 
ish, headquarters Farmersville, which has issued a pamphlet ; 
Bienville parish has issued a pamphlet, and the headquarters 
there are Arcadia ; Franklin parish has an organization, and has 
issued a pamplilet, headquarters at Winnsborough ; Ruston, Lin- 
coln parish, has an organization; Morehouse parish has issued a 
pamphlet, headquarters, Bastrop; Ascension parish, headquar- 
ters, Donaldson ville, has issued a pamphlet under the auspices 



ABOUT LOUISIA^^A. 155 

of the Ascension parish branch of the Sugar Planters' Associa- 
tion; Tangipahoa parish has issued a pamphlet, headquarters 
Amite; the Illinois Central Kailroad Comi)any has issued a 
pamphlet, applications for which should be m.ide to Mr. J. F. 
Merry, General Western Passenger Agent, Manchester, Iowa. 
Lastly, an organization of great prominence and influence, known 
as the State Immigration Association of Louisiana, has its head- 
quarters in New Orleans, with Hon. John Dymoud us president. 

We have reserved Orleans parish for separate comment, and 
have taken it out of the category of "Alluvial Lands " because 
of its superior claims to more elaborate notice as l)eing paiticu- 
larly the seat of New Orleans, the leading city of the State, and 
the metropolis of the Southwest. The limitations of our space, 
we legretto say, compel u«i to abridge greatly ihe portrayal of 
this great city, and we must generalize much in doing so. In 
this line of treatment we sJuiU have recourse to the labors of 
others who have taken a bro.id view of most material facts ger- 
mane to the material aspects of the city. 

The following remarks upon New Orleans are extracts from an 
address of Judge Chas. E. Fenner, at the opening of the Cotton 
Palace, in February, 1889, in that city. 

""Wlien we survey the great natural advantages of the State of Louisiana 
and of the City of New Orleans, it seems difficult to explain how they have 
been distanced in the race of progress by manj^ of their sister States and 
cities which have had much greater difficulties to encounter and obstacles to 
overcome. It cannot be denied tliat her temperate climate, her fertile soil, 
the great variety of her jiroductious, the accessibility to market of all por- 
tions of her territory, and her general salubrity, reduce to a minimum the 
struggle of existence in Louisiana, and place Avithiu the reach of her inhabi- 
tants, a greater proportion of the comforts of life, at a less cost of labor, than 
can be obtained in almost any other jjart of the world. 

As for the City of New Orleans, the slightest study of the map of the West- 
ern Hemisphere inevitably hxes upon her as the site of a great metropolis. 
This was visible to Bienville when he transported the colony which his 
brotlier, Iberville, had founded on the salubrious shores of Lake Pontchar- 
train. to the half reclaimed swamps on the bank of the Mississippi, and, with 
prophetic vision, tixed here the seat of a commercial empire. It was equally 
visible to Thomas Jelferson, when he seized upon the complications of Euro- 
pean politics, to acquire for his country, the priceless treasure of the Louisiana 
territory. 

Situated at the southern gateway to the ocean of that vast and incompar- 
able region known as the Mississii)pi Valley, the natural key to the naviga- 
tion of that great system of waterways which penetrate the richest regions 
of the globe, and, converging in the central artery of the Mississippi river, find 
their way to the ocean on its mighty current; planted almost on the dividing 
line between two continents, naturally tributary to each other, and finding 
here their inevitable centre of exchanges ; the existence of New Orleans as a 
commercial metropolis is not an accident, but a necessity ; and he is blind 



156 SOME LATE WOEDS 

who cannot foresee the magnificent future "which lies before her. The pos- 
sible New Orleans rises before the mind's eye as one of the most entrancing 
visions that can bewitch the imagination. Nature has done for her all that 
is necessary." 

From " The New South '' of Col. M. B. Hillyard, in his article 
" Louisiana," we quote from pp. 312-313, the following elaborate 
pen picture of New Orleaos and its possibilities: 

" No other city on this continent is so unique in its aspects as this, the chief 
city of Louisiana. Its quaint hurly-biirly ; its gay and giddy people ; its ' 
love of pageantry ; its surprising abandon ; its fondness for parades ; its 
nnion of bustle and idleness ; the coarse savagery, squalor, ignorance, of part 
of its population, and the gentle refinement, liigh culture and effervescent 
brightness of manner of another ; the stench of its gutters, and the floral glo- 
ries of its gardens and parks ; its grotesque and chaotic architecture ; its 
markets, and their noisy and nondescript vendors ; the diverse dialects of its 
inhabitants ; the eloquence of its clergy ; the desecration of the Sabbath in 
games, entertainments, pic-nics, theatres and conduct of business ; its extrav- 
agance in dress and the gayety of it ; its consummate beggars ; its fine Avines 
and cigars ; its world-known carnival, and the matchless participation in its 
spirit; the knightly valor of its gentlemen, their hospitality and unspeakable 
charm of manner; the glorious beauty, elegance, sparkle of its ladies — these, 
and far more that defy enumeration, give toISfew Orleans aspects kaleidoscopic 
and bizarre. 

The business possibilities of this most advantageously located city are al- 
most beyond computation. "New Orleans enjoys advantages which are pe- 
culiar, and which must make her a great em])orium of trade and commerce. 
These are the facilities for transportation of heavy freight by river ; her sys- 
tem of railroads ; her safe and deep water port ; her geographical proximity 
to Mexico, Central and South America. She is the natural outlet for the pro- 
ducts and manufactures of the Mississippi basin and of the Western States. 
She should also be the distributing point for the imports from neighboring 
coTintries. The Panama Canal, when completed, will cause an enormous in- 
crease in her traffic. She is but five days from Colon, the mouth of the canal ; 
one day's crossing will bring her to Panama. This means communication in 
six days with the western coast of Central and South America, and an ab- 
sorption of all the heavy freight from our California coast, and the §upply of 
the wants of the people on the western coast of Central America under such 
favorable conditiims as to defy comi>etition. More intimate connections with 
Mixico will stimulate traffic between the two countries, a large ijortion of 
which must necessarily fall into the lap of New Orleans." 

New Orleans ought to be the great centre of siigar refining. Her prox- 
imity to Cuba and her position as the emporium of the home supply ; her 
river for distribution, along with her railroads, show this. The unnatural 
competition of German beet-sugar cannot continue. She ought to manufac- 
ture flour from Southern-raised wheat, and distribute it to South and Central 
America, West Indies and Mexico. Many considerations urge her eligibility 
as a great cotton manufacturing city. Years hence Southern-raised wool will 
come here in great quantity, and woolen factories ought to spring up. Silk 
factories we ought to confidently expect, too. Her proximity to Texas .nnd 
South America for hides, points to her as amostpvoper place for ninnufacturing 
boots and shoes, harness, trunks and other articles into which leather largely 
■enters. Here ought to be canned extensively oysters, shrimp, fish, terrapins, 
wild duck, figs, oranges, pineapples, many vegetables, etc. 

Iron ship-building, and wooden, too, for that matter,- — ought to hei'e find 
one of its most eligible localities. Proximity to coal and iron ; competing 
railroads from the fields of these minerals, with down grades ; a river enter- 
ing, so to speak, distant fields to che;ipen these products ; the cheapest and 
best timber in the world — Southern white oak and yellow pine— near ; deep 
water and plenty of room for launching, — all these and more, shoW the induce- 
ments in this industry. 



ABOUT L0CJISIA:N^A. 157 

No place seems so fit for the seat of an ininiense iudustiy in the maunfac- 
ttiriug of furniture, whether one regards lier proximity to the tine woods of 
the tropies, or lier contiguity to the abundant — almost untouched, — woods of 
the South. Tliis city could hardly have a rival in the country, in the manu- 
facture of either cheap or most elegant furniture. Comparative non-compe- 
tition, largeness of territory for consumption, cheapness and facility of dis- 
tribution, are all additional and most important f;ictors. 

New Orleans ought to be a prodigious jiroducer of woodenware. This 
needs no further word. Rags are exported hence to New York. This is sug- 
gestive enough of paper maiurfactnre. 

New Orleans ought to export the bulk of the tobacco raised in Kentucky 
and Tennessee. This product would thus bring more money to its producers. 

A large increase of capital, available for current uses, is badly needed in 
New Orleans. This city is now too dependent upon New York. 

Most Western importations ought to come via New Orleans; and the South 
Avill find her one of the most eligible jiorts for the exportation of her future 
liome-made ilour, cotton goods, canned meats and vegetables, boots, shoes, 
harness, farming utensils, machinery, etc. Coal and lumber, too, ought to 
find large exportation from this port. There must be a great future in these. 
Certainly, New Orleans ought to be the great entrepot for the teas and silks 
of China and Japan, and for the cotfee and s] '.-es of the tropics. The comple- 
tion of either the great canal across the Istl; nus or the Eads' Ship Eailway, 
will open a i^ath which New Orleans ought to enter. 

" The South is the coming country." New Orleans is the gateway to the 
world to and from the South and West." 

New Orleans is well advanced in manufactures. She is getting strong in brew- 
eries, sugar refineries, foundries, shoe manuf;ictories, coojierages, boxfactories, 
soap factories, candy manufactories, cigar and tobacco factories, ready-made 
clothing, boots and shoes, sash, blind and door factories, lumber factories (saw 
mills), brickyards, potteries, ricemills, book-binderies, wagons, carriages, moss 
ginneries. Sheismaking some furniture, harness.saddles.brooms.corks.tanning 
some leather. Her oil mills, rice mills, book binderies, fertilizer factories, can- 
ning factories, are strong factors in her industries, as are cotton factories, in 
which she has of late made notable progress. She possesses the finest porcelain 
factory in America; its wares being equal to those of Sevres. She makes fine 
ropes and cotton yarns, cordage, etc. There are two tile factories. But it is 
impossible to enumerate all her industries. 

She has aboiit the deepest water in the United States clear to the saltwater, 
and will in all likelihood ha^e the United States Navy Yard here, and prob- 
ably iron ship-building establishments. She has very creditable shipyards 
now. We may certainly look to imuu'use business in building cars, locomo- 
tives and engines here (as is done in the last instance largely now) some day. 
And agricultural implements ought to be a prominent nuinufiicturing interest. ' 

New Orleans is well supplied a\ ith railroads already, and has lately been 
opened up to Denver, Colorado. Two lines more at least are making this 
way, one from Dallas, Texas ; and another the Fort Scott, Natchez and "Gulf. 
Those already here are the Louisville and Nashville, along the coast of the 
Mississippi Sound, passing through Mobile, Montgomery, Birmingham, Nash- 
ville, Louisville, etc.; The Illinois Central Railroad, passing through .Jack- 
son and Canton, Mississippi, Memphis, Tennessee, Cairo, Illinois, and on to 
Chicago and St. Louis, Missouri ; The MiNsissii»)»i Valley Railroad, through 
Baton Rouge, Vicksburg, Memphis, Tennessee. I'aducali. Kentucky, to Rich- 
mond and Fortress Monroe, Virginia ; The Queen and Crescent Route, through 
Meridian, Mississippi, Birmingham, Alabama, C^hattanooga, Tennessee, to 
Cincinnati, Ohio ; The Southern Pacific Railroad, tluough southwest Louisi- 
ana, through Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, S;in Antoiiio, Kl Paso to San 
Francisco ; The Texas and Pacific, via Baton Rouge, Alexandria, Shrevepoi't, 
Marshall, Longview, Terrell, Dallas. Fort Worth, Kl i'aso. ^"]w last twoaftbrd 
outlets to Denver, Colorado, by the Denver, Texas and Fort Worth Railroad, 
finished last summer to Fort Worth from Denver. Of course we cannot 
undertake to enumerate the connections nuide witli subordinate railroads by 
the trunk lines we have mentioned. It would take a volume to do it. Suffice 



158 



SOME LATE WORDS 



It to pay that New Orleans Is pretty thorouglily connected, with the whole 
railroad system of the United States. 

By her river she can have navigation such as no other city can boast, as the 
following shows : 

NAVIGATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



■ The total navigation of the Mississippi itself is 2161 miles, but small steam- 
ers can ascend TbO miles further. 

The following are its principal navigable tributaries, with the miles open 
to navigation : ' 

Miles. 

Minnesota 295 

Chippewa 90 

Iowa 80 

Mis.souri 3,174 

His: Horn 50 

Alle";heny 325 

Muskiiijriini 414 

Kentucky 105 

AVaba.sli SG5 

Teuiic«stM5 270 

( )sa}:e S02 

W h it<^ 779 

Little White 4« 

Bi;: Hatthie 75 

Siintlower 271 

Tiillahatchie 175 

Ked 986 

Cvpress 44 

Black 61 

Bartholomew 100 

Maoon 60 

Att'hafalaya 218 

Lafourche 168 

The other ten navigable tributaries have less than fifty miles each of 
navigation. 

The Mississippi and its tributaries may be estimated to possess 16,571 miles, 
navigaV)le to steamboats, and 20,221 miles, navigable to barges. 

As to the lines of steamers and sailing vessels at this port, our space utterly 
forbid.s an enumeration of them ; but with vessels to foreign ports, coastwise 
and rivers, our tonnage is very large. 

Capital invested in manufacturing in this city is exemjited from taxation 
for ten years. 

The population of New Orleans is estimated to be 254,000 j 184,500 white, 
69.500 colored. 



Miles. 

Wisconsin 160 

Kock : 64 

Illinois 350 

Yellowstone 474 

Ohio 1,021 

Monongahela 110 

Kanawha 94 

Green 200 

Cumberland 609 

Clinch 50 

St. Francis 180 

Black 147 

Arkansas 884 

Issaquena 161 

Ya/,oo 228 

Bi^Black 35 

Caiie 54 

Ouichita 384 

Bcenf 55 

Tensas 112 

Teche 91 

D'Aibonne 50 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 



159 



NAVIGABLE STREAMS. 

The following is a list of tlie navigable waters in the state : 



Miles of 
Navigation. 



Head of Navigatloii. 



Amite Kiver 

Att'liafalaya Kiver.... 

Barataiia Bayou 

*l!aitholomew Bayou. 

Bistcucaii Lake 

Black River 

BiKlcau Lake 

Eituf liiver 

Bwuf Bayou 

Calcasieu Elver 

Cane River 

*Cn)S8 Lake 

Courtableau Bayon... 
D'Arbomie Bayou.... 

DeGlaise Bayou 

Delarge Bayou 

Doriliitu Bayou 

Forks of Caicasien. . . . 
Giaml Caillou Bayou. 

Lal'durche Bayou 

Lacombe Bayou 

Little River 

Louis Bayoti 

Magou Bayou 

Manchac liayou 

MerniPntau Bavou. ... 
'Mississippi River.... 

Natalbany River 

*Ouachita River 

*Pearl River 

Petite Anse Bayou. . . . 

*Red River 

Rouge Bayou 

Sabine River 

Teche Bayou 

Tensas River 

Tickfaw River 

Terrebonne Bayou. . . . 
Tangipahoe River.... 
Tchefuncta Baj'ou. . . . 

Vermilion Bayou 

Other streams 



61 

J18 
78 
40 
SO 

128 
10 
65 
11 

132 
60 
25 
86 
50 
29 
20 
6 
32 
13 

818 
15 
12 
15 

138 
18 
81 

585 
12 

217 

103 
8 

510 
15 

887 
91 

112 
16 
27 
15 
20 
49 

155 



Total, 



3.771 



Port Vincent. 

Red River. 

Harvey's Canal. 

Baxter, Ark. 

Minden. 

Mouth of Ouachita. 

Bellevue. 

Rayville. 



Grand Ecore. 
Jefferson, Texas. 
Washington. 
FanueiATlle. 
Evergieen. 



Minden. 



Donaldsonville. 
Bayou Lacombe. 
Trinity. 
B:iyi>u' Castor. 
Floyd. 
Hope Villa. 
Lake Artlnir. 
St. Panl, Minn. 
Springtield. 
Camden. Ark. 
Carthage. Miss. 
Salt Mine. 

Sbreveport, State Shoals, 
Texas. 

St. Martinsville. 
Lake Providence. 



Old Landing. 
Pin Hook Bridge. 



•Portion of navigable stream lying in other States. 



MILES OF NAVIGATION IN EACH STATE OF MISSISSIPPI VAL- 
LEY. 



Louisiana 


Miles. 

3,771 

2,100 

1,380 

1,310 

1,280 

1,270 


Minnesota 


Miles. 

720 

C6U 


Mississippi 

Montana 


Ohio 


560 


Texas 


550 

440 






500 




1 260 




'{80 


Kentucky 


1,027 

1,2.30 

840 

830 


Kansas 


240 

200 


Iowa 

Indian Territory 


Kew York 


70 



160 SOME LATE WORDS 

The State contains about (26,000,000) twenty-six million acres of land, and 
(1,250,000) one and a quarter million acres of inland water surface. 

'* TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. 

The land is nearly equally divided into hilly and level lands. 

The lauds of the State may he approximately divided as follows : 

Good upland (5,250,000) iive and a quarter million acres. 

Pine hills (5,500,000) live and a half million acres. 

Bluff lands (1,500,000) one and a half million acres. 

Prairie (2,500.000) two and a half million acres. 

Arable alluvial (2,750,000) two and three-quarter million acres. 

Piue flats (1,500,000) one and a half million acres. 

Coast marsh (3,500,000) three and a half million acres. 

X 

MINERALS. 

Louisiana marble and kainite beds, situated in Winn parish, and the kaolin 
beds of Catahoula, are the most notable discoveries made in northwest Loiiis- 
iana. The marble underlays 1000 acres, aud is said by those who claim to 
know, to be the largest marble formation in the world. All colors are found. 
The banded, variegated and yellow lime onyx are unique. The stone has 
been assayed both here and at Washington, D. C. The crystal is very fine 
and stone compact. It contains no iron, silica or sulphur. It is absolutely 
free from all extraneous matter. The kainite beds of Winn parish are situ- 
ated 4 miles south of Wiunfield. They are said to contain potash, soda, lime, 
salt and aluminum in combination. It is claimed to be a good fertilizer when 
combined with the liuie burned from the marble, and can be put on the market 
for less than half the price of commercial fertilizer. If this information is 
correct it is a mine of wealth. 

GOVERNMENT AND STATE LANDS. 

We pass now to the topic of lands in Louisiana belonging to 
United States and to the State. 

The followiug letter, kindly furnished, at my request, by Hon. 
J. Massie Martin, United States Eeceiver, will give some light as 
to the quantity of lauds subject to homestead entry belonging to 
the United States and. situated in the State of Louisiana : 

United States Land Office, I 
New Orleans, La., Jan. 12, 1889. S 

Hon. T. W. Poole, Commissioner Bureau of Immigration, !No. 5 Caiondelet street, New 
Orleans, La.: 

Dear Sir — Your favor of the llth inst., received. The number of acres 
subject to homestead entry, belonging to the United States and located iu 
this State is, in rough numbers, about 2,000,000 of acres. 

The bulk of these lands are pine lands, the prairie lands of the State having 
been the first to be entered by settlers. Eespectfully, 

J. Massie Martin, Receiver. 

There are two Eegisters of the United States Land Office in 

this State. One in the city of New Orleans, the other in the 

town of 15'atchitoches. The following letter explains itself: 

United States Land Office, ) 
Natchitoches, La., Jan. 18, 1889. \ 
Hon. T. "W. Poole, New Orleans, La.s 

Dear Sir — In compliance with your request, I have made a hurried estimate 
of the vacant pubHo domain, by parishes in this district, with the following 
result: 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 



161 



Vernou G7,000 

Sabine 38,0G0 

Rapides 25,000 

Red River 3,500 

Claiborne 8,500 

Grant 4,500 



Natcbitocbes 58,020 

Bienville 18,000 

Bossier 15,000 

Caddo 12,500 

Webster 7,500 

Winn 15,000 



These are proximate iionres, the time allowed not beinof snfficient to make 
an accurate statement. Respectfnlly, 

Willis Holmes, Register. 

This would leave in round numbers about 1,700,000 acres un- 
accounted for in the rough computation. We venture to throw 
a little more light oti this subject, bj^ stating that there is gov- 
ernment (United iStates) land subject to homestead entry in the 
parishes of northern Catahoula, in various parts of Jackson, 
Caldwell, Ouachita, and some in Morehouse and Union. That is 
all the information we venture on the topic, and that we give 
with great hesitation, and only in deference to what seems a 
common expectation on the part of the public that, the Commis- 
sioner of Immigration should know all about the matter, and 
that it is his duty to impart it. We beg the public to understand 
that it is not the province of the Commissioner of Immigration 
to communicate information on the topics or subjects of lands 
subject to homestead entry, belonging to the United States or 
of lands belonging to the State of State of Louisiana subject to 
homestead entry or sale. loformation as to United States 
lands is properly obtainable at the office of the land registers at 
New Orleans, and iSTatchitoches, Louisiana ; as to State lands, of 
the register of the State land office, at Baton Rouge, La. We 
convey this information to prevent disappointment and delay to 
enquirers, and to protect the Commissioner of Immigration 
against unreasoning, unkind, or ignorant, but innocent, criticism. 
It would he an act of almost physical impossibility to give accu- 
rate information as to where and how much land is subject to 
sale and entry in the State. Thousands in that category to day 
might be sold or entered to-morrow ; and to keep up a daily 
communication with these land offices (two in remote parts of 
the State), would be simply impossible. What we have said as 
to United States lands is, therefore, only ai^proximate, and is 
only a courtesy, we should be glad to make more serviceable, if 
we could. But to give minute data as to quantities and locali- 



162 SOME LATE WOEDS 

ties of g'overnment lauds would iuvolve mouths of research and 
is entirely outside the province of this office. 

The public lands of the United States are now withdrawn 
from sale, and are only subject to homesteads. 

40 Acres can be entered at a cost total fees aud expenses of about $18 00 

80 " " " " " " " " " " " <' 22 00 

120 " " " " " " " " " " " •' 25 00 

160 " " " " " " " " " " '< << 30 00 

Also Louisiana has several million acres of State lands. These 
lands are subject to entry as homesteads, by actual settlers, free 
of cost, except the nominal cost of notice of ai)plicHtioii, etc., to 
the amount of IGO acres. The lands are also snbject to pur- 
chase in any quantity at prices ranging ironi 12 l-2c to 75 per 
acre. 



RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES, AND EXEMPTIONS OF TENANTS, LABORERS 
AND WORKINGMEN. 

HOMESTEADS AND EXEMPTIONS — CONSTITUTION OF 1879. 

Article 219. There shall be exempt from seizure and sale by any process 
whatever, except as herein provided, the homesteads bona fida owned by the 
debtor aud occupied by him, consisting of lands, buildinos and appurten- 
ances, whether rural or urban, of every head of a family, or person having a 
mother or father, a person or i>ersons, dependent on him or her for support ; 
also one work horse, one w-agon or cart, one yoke of oxen, tAvo cows and 
calves, twenty-five head of hogs, or one thousand pounds of bacon, or its 
equivalent in pork, whether these exemjjted objects l)e attached to a honn^- 
stead, or not, and on a farm the necessary quantity of corn aud fodder for the 
current year, and the necessary farming implements to the value of two 
thoiisand dollars. 

EXEMPTION in FAVOR t)P LESSEE, OR TENANT. 

Civil Code, Article 2705. The lessee shall be entitled to retain out' of 
property subjected by law^ to the lessor's privilege, his clothes and linen, and 
those of his wife and family, his bed, bedding, and bedstead, those of his wife 
and family ; his arms, military accoutrements, and the tools and instruments 
necessary for the exercise of his trade or profession by which he gains a 
living, and that of his family. 

exemptions prom SEIZUE for debt — ACTS 1876, NO. 79. 

Section 1. The sheriff' or coiistable cannot seize the linen and clothes 
belonging to the debtor, or his wife, nor his bed, bedding or bedstead, nor 
those of his family, nor his arms and military accoutrements, nor the tools,' 
instruments and books, and sewing machines necessary for the exercise of 
his or her calling, trade or profession by which he or she makes a liviug, nor 
shall he in any case seize money due for the salary of an officer, nor laltorers' 
w'ages, nor the cooking-stove, nor iiteiisils of the said stove, nor th<' idates, 
<lishes, knives and forks, and spoons, nor the <lining table and dining chairs, 
nor wash-tubs, nor smoothing irons and ironing furnaces, nor family portraits 
belonging to the debtor, nor the musical instruments played on, or practiced 
on by any member of the family. 



ABOUT LOUISIANA. 163 

VAiaOrs PRIVILEGES OF LABORERS — ACTS 1886, NO. 89. 

Section 1. The laborer slicall have the first privilege on crops. 

Civil Code, Article 3217. The workman or artisan shall have a privilege 
for the price of his labor on the movable property, which he has rejiaired or 
made,. if the thing continues in his j)osses^ou. 

Civil Code. Article 3249. Architects, undertakers, bricklayers, paint- 
ers, master builders, contractors, sub-contractors, journeymen, laborers, cart 
men and other workmen employed in constructing, rebuilding, or repairing 
houses, buildings, or making other works, shall have a lien and jirivilege 
u])on the building, improvements, or other work erected, and upon the lot of 
ground not exceeding one acre, upon which the building, improvement or 
other work sliall be erected ; provided such lot of groxmd belongs to the per- 
son having such building, improvement, or other work erected. 

Acts, 1880, no. 130, Section 1. Laborers and workingmen on buildings, 
streets, railroads, canals, ditches, and other similar works, when their ser- 
vices are engaged by the proprietor, or any agent of the proprietor, upon any 
of the works above enumerated, shall have a first privilege Tipon the build- 
ings or other works upon which their labor has been bestowed. 

Section 2. That when such works are done by finy contractor, or sub- 
contractor for a stipulated price, it shall not be lawful for any portions of 
such contract price to be paid or advanced to the contractor, or sub-con- 
tractor, until payment has been made, or security giveu, for all sums due to 
laborers or workmen under such contractors, or sub-contractors, up to the 
date of such payment, nor shall any payments or advances be made to any 
such contractor or sub-contractor, except in proportion to work actually done, 
and in such manner as to leave unpaid at all times, until the completion of 
the work, a sum safiScient to secure the bills for labor or work. 

state lands. 

Section 10, Act No. 7.5, approved April 7, 1888, provides that the public 
lands, douatcfl by Congress to the State of Louisinna, shall be subject to entry 
and sale, at flic rate of seventy-five cents per acre, for any number of acres ; 
and any ])erson making affidavit that he or she enters for his or her own use ; 
and for the pnr])ose of actual settlement and cultivation, and together with 
the said entry, he or she has not acquired from the State of Louisiana, under 
the provisious of this or any act graduating State lands, more than one 
hundred and sixty acres, according to the established surveys, shall be 
allowed to <mter one hundred and sixty acres at the rate of twelve and one- 
lialf cents jicr acre. 



STATE OFFICERS 

Francis Tillou Ntcholls, Governor. 

James Jeffries, Lieutenant-Governor. 

Leonard F. Mason, Secretary of State. 

Walter H. Rogers, Attorney General 

Ollie Brice Steele, Auditor oi" Public Accounts. 

William H. Pipes, State Treasnrer. 

Joseph A. Breaux, Superintendent of Public Edu(^ati<)». 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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